A Provincial Court judge gave a 66-year-old man an absolute discharge after Prince George RCMP found a rifle in his closet.
Police attended Jagtar Singh Thiara’s residence after his tenant complained that their dispute over rent and living conditions erupted on April 15.
On Wednesday, Dec. 11, a Crown prosecutor sought an 18-month suspended sentence and five-year ban for the possession of the firearm without a licence or registration charge.
Defence lawyer David Jenkins Sr. said Thiara, at one time, had a possession and acquisition licence, but overlooked its renewal. The rifle police found during their cursory check of the residence was not loaded and Thiara had no ammunition.
“It was a clear oversight on his part not to have done the regulatory homework he should’ve done in order to continue to possess the gun,” Jenkins said.
Court heard that Thiara had no prior convictions.
Judge Martin Nadon opted for the absolute discharge, which is a finding of guilt without a criminal record. Nadon also gave Thiara a five-year firearms ban.
Thiara had also been charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, but Crown stayed the charge after he agreed to enter a one-year peace bond arrangement.
