From: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca (Cdn-Firearms Digest) To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Subject: Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #443 Reply-To: cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Sender: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Errors-To: owner-can-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Cdn-Firearms Digest Tuesday, September 27 2005 Volume 08 : Number 443 In this issue: Judge orders weapons ban for man who assaulted wife: 93% VOTED "NO" COPS HUNTING GUN SUSPECT Editorial - Pot and murder MURDER SUSPECT WAS FREE ON BAIL Column: If guns are not a problem, why did Jordan Smith die? Letter: True gun culture exists Probation for 15-year old had firearms, knives and 'hit list' of ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:23:36 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Judge orders weapons ban for man who assaulted wife: PUBLICATION: The Kingston Whig-Standard DATE: 2005.09.27 EDITION: Final SECTION: Community PAGE: 6 BYLINE: Sue Yanagisawa SOURCE: The Kingston Whig-Standard WORD COUNT: 1050 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Judge orders weapons ban for man who assaulted wife: Police took guns, bow, knife and bayonet from home - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A retired advertising executive, who pleaded guilty in Kingston's Ontario Court of Justice to an assault on his now estranged wife, and to unsafe storage of two firearms and ammunition, has been given a suspended sentence and placed on probation for 18 months. In recommending the disposition, Xxxxxx Xxxxx lawyer, Wayne King, suggested to the judge that his client's case was particularly deserving of compassion because "I don't think members of the general public have had to live in the maelstrom these two people have had to live in." Court was told that the crisis between the Xxxxxs was preceded by the discovery that their younger daughter, eight years old, has leukemia. "You can understand the dynamics of the awful pressure on these people at the time," King told the judge. "Dealing with this kind of grief, this kind of stress is devastating, I'm sure." Xxxxx was originally charged with two separate assaults on his wife and multiple weapons offences, and he initially entered pleas of not guilty to all of them except the unsafe storage charges. He changed his mind just as assistant Crown attorney Laurie Lacelle was about to call her first witness. Then, after several private conferences between King, Lacelle and the judge, Xxxxxx altered his plea on one of the assaults and Lacelle withdrew the remaining charges. The Crown told Justice Paul Megginson the events that led to the charges began to unfold in late January, about five days after Xxxxxx and his wife learned of their younger child's illness. They have two daughters a year apart in age, Lacelle advised the court, and they've been married almost 12 years. They moved to Kingston in 2002. Lacelle said it was his wife's birthday in January and Xxxxx gave her a necklace with a small cross set with diamonds to celebrate. Xxxxxx admitted in court to being an alcoholic, however, and Lacelle told the judge he was drinking that night. Eventually his mood changed under the influence of alcohol, she said, and he ripped the gold chain from his wife's neck. Lacelle told the judge that in her original complaint his wife said she pushed him away and he pushed back, knocking her to the floor. She didn't report the incident to police when it happened, but Lacelle said the wife later remembered it as the worst day of her marriage to that point. And she did call police several months later, on May 5 according to Lacelle, after a second confrontation with her husband. That day, Megginson was told, Xxxxxx's wife and mother-in-law spent the day with one daughter at the hospital while Xxxxxx remained at home, looking after the other. He picked the two women up afterward and returned with them to the family home, where Lacelle said an argument developed between the couple. Xxxxxx objected to their daughters' maternal grandmother being present during her cancer treatment and Lacelle said he didn't want his mother-in-law to stay in their home that night. Ultimately, both women left together, according to Lacelle. But they weren't gone long when they realized they'd left some of the grandmother's things behind and returned. Lacelle said another argument then developed when Xxxxxx's wife wanted to take their older daughter with her for the night. During their disagreement, Lacelle told the judge Xxxxxx pushed his wife and she fell backward, but now the wife claims she didn't hit the ground and wasn't injured. At the time, however, she made a complaint to police. Consequently, her husband was arrested and when police searched him Lacelle said they discovered an alleged prohibited weapon in his pocket, a silver, folding knife with a blade that opened by centrifugal force. Defence lawyer King disputed that the pocket knife was a 'flick' knife, but Lacelle noted "the officers were certainly able to open it by flicking their wrists." Police also learned that Xxxxxx had registered weapons, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .22 and returned to his home, retrieving them from a box under his bed. Both guns were stored with trigger locks, but officers found that the ammunition for the .22 was stored in the same box, which is illegal under the new rules for firearms. In addition, they seized a large, sharpened bayonet that was kept in a night stand by the couple's bed, a compound bow from the basement and were directed to a large hunting knife tucked between the seat and the console of the family vehicle. Defence lawyer King reminded the judge that the substance of the assault to which his client admitted, however, was a push at the door. He also noted that Xxxxxx had legally owned his firearms for some time and "the weapons hadn't been used in 10 years," before the laws were changed. "By the standards of the time they were properly stored," he told Megginson. "By the time they were picked up they weren't." King argued that his client was a man who had one minor scrape with the law in 1978 and otherwise has led an exemplary life. He told Megginson that "he went to the best schools," attended Osgoode Law, although he chose not to practice and became the "very successful owner of an advertising agency" in Toronto before moving to Kingston. King also told the judge that he believed "this was a very triable case." But his client, "out of love for his wife decided to take the bull by the horns and enter pleas," King said. "I don't agree with him for it, but I respect him." King tried to convince the judge that the weapons seized from Xxxxxx should be held by police for 30 days, turned over to his client's designate and returned to him at the end of his 18-month probation. Lacelle balked at that suggestion, however. She asked that he be banned from having possession of weapons for five years. She also told the judge she was concerned by his wife's disclosure that he's not a hunter and kept the assortment of weapons that police seized for protection. Lacelle said she also found it unsettling that a small child told police where to find the hunting knife. In the end, Megginson agreed with the Crown. He prohibited Xxxxxx from "possessing, owning or carrying" weapons of any kind during the term of his probation and imposed a five-year prohibition on his owning or handling firearms and various other specific weapons such as crossbows. suey.thewhig.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:23:42 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: 93% VOTED "NO" PUBLICATION: The Calgary Sun DATE: 2005.09.27 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 2 TYPE : Calgary Sun Poll WORD COUNT: 25 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CALGARYSUN.COM ONLINE POLL - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Do you think kids should be banned from sporting events if their parents misbehave? Yesterday, we asked: "Do you think the federal gun registry was a good investment?" Out of 939 respondents, 7% said yes, 93% said no. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:23:51 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: COPS HUNTING GUN SUSPECT PUBLICATION: The Toronto Sun DATE: 2005.09.27 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: 8 ILLUSTRATION: photo of ANDRE MARC TULLY Armed and dangerous: Police COLUMN: Sunflashes WORD COUNT: 65 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COPS HUNTING GUN SUSPECT - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Police are hunting a man facing firearms charges who has allegedly breached bail conditions. Police say Andre Marc Tully, 20, wasn't living at the specified location. He's described as 6 feet tall, 180 pounds with short, dark hair and a 2.5-cm scar below his left eye. He is considered armed and dangerous. He was arrested in October after police pulled over an SUV and allegedly found two loaded .45-calibre pistols. Anyone with info about where Tully is should call police at 416-808-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:23:58 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Editorial - Pot and murder PUBLICATION: WINNIPEG FREE PRESS DATE: 2005.09.27 PAGE: A12 SECTION: Focus WORD COUNT: 375 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editorial - Pot and murder - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Editorial Staff Canadians can understand why relatives of the four Mounties slain in March in Mayerthorpe, Alta. would demand the federal government scrap its plan to decriminalize marijuana. The families believe tougher drug laws may save police lives. But there is no evidence to suggest that to be true. Justice Minister Irwin Cotler should stay on course. Canada's existing marijuana law was not involved in the slayings of the officers at the farm of James Roszko March 3. Mr. Roszko was discovered to be harbouring a grow operation only after police were on his property, after being called by a bailiff attempting to seize his truck. The grow operation and stolen auto parts were discovered on the property and the officers remained there overnight. That was when Mr. Roszko, widely known in town as a violent cop-hater with a hair-trigger temper, snuck back, shot the officers and later killed himself. Rev. Don Schiemann, whose son Peter was among the officers ambushed, is leading the charge to pressure the federal Liberals to abort a bill that will decriminalize pot possessed for personal use. Mr. Cotler's bill would increase the maximum jail term for those who operate marijuana farms to 14 years, but the families want, among other measures, a mandatory minimum sentence of two years. James Roszko was a dangerous man who possessed weapons, hated cops and threatened and intimidated people. A convicted sex offender, he had escaped charges of violence when a witness failed to appear in court. The threat of two years in jail for growing marijuana would not have changed the tragic outcome of the ambush in Mayerthorpe. Mr. Roszko's murderous rampage aside, judges have ample latitude to deal with marijuana growers and, increasingly, they do not. Society is showing greater tolerance for pot smokers and sellers because many people know the evidence about pot: like alcohol, it is a minor threat to the health of smokers. Many people hold marijuana prohibition in contempt and act accordingly. Mr. Cotler should decriminalize pot use. Criminals might quit marijuana production and trade if it were regulated like alcohol and tobacco. Then police officers would not risk their lives enforcing a marijuana law that has declining support and effect in Canada. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:25:52 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: MURDER SUSPECT WAS FREE ON BAIL PUBLICATION: The London Free Press DATE: 2005.09.27 EDITION: Final SECTION: News PAGE: A1 BYLINE: KELLY PEDRO, FREE PRESS CRIME REPORTER WORD COUNT: 290 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MURDER SUSPECT WAS FREE ON BAIL - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Toronto-area man charged with second-degree murder in London's latest homicide was out on bail at the time of the shooting while appealing a drug conviction. Dwayne Pitter, 23, was charged Sunday after Joshua Kenneth Williams, 22, was shot in the parking lot outside the Roxbury Pub and Grill on Oxford Street earlier that day. Pitter was convicted last November of five counts of trafficking cocaine and possession of proceeds of crime after he was arrested in a police sweep of crack cocaine dealers in east London. At trial, police testified about the alarming increase in firearms linked to crack cocaine, saying more dealers were arming themselves. In April, Pitter was sentenced to 18 months in jail. But sources say he was released on bail while he appealed the conviction and sentence. Police are investigating whether the shooting was drug-related. "We're looking at every angle," Det. Andrew Whitford said yesterday. Police believe Williams and Pitter were inside the Roxbury before the shooting, although investigators are still probing whether they were there together. Police seized a handgun and are trying to trace it. Pitter and Williams were known to police, sources say. Williams had recently moved to London from Brantford, but was not a student. The fatal shooting was the city's 13th homicide of the year. "What we've seen this year and over the summertime is extremely disturbing, not only for the police but for the community," Deputy Chief Tony McGowan said yesterday. Besides the homicides they've had to deal with this, the past summer saw two officers shot and another shot at, McGowan noted. He predicts guns will soon outpace knives as the weapon of choice in London crimes. It wasn't long ago, he said, that crack cocaine wasn't a local problem while Toronto struggled to cope with it. But before long, crack hit London streets and McGowan said police are facing the same problem now with shootings and gun violence. "We look down to Toronto and we see there's been a rash of shootings. That . . . has been a Toronto problem, but it's here now," he said. A special police task force, Project Ceasefire, which began in June to probe a spike in shootings in London, was meant to stave off the problem, McGowan said. The task force has found all the shootings under investigation were drug-related -- specifically, crack cocaine. Project Ceasefire has been extended by two months because police have gathered more than 60 weapons leads. "It's only a matter of time before somebody innocent is shot and it's only a matter of time before we (police) become engaged in an exchange of gunfire. That's my worry," McGowan said. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:30:49 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Column: If guns are not a problem, why did Jordan Smith die? PUBLICATION: The Hamilton Spectator DATE: 2005.09.27 EDITION: Final SECTION: Local PAGE: A2 COLUMN: Susan Clairmont BYLINE: Susan Clairmont SOURCE: The Hamilton Spectator WORD COUNT: 609 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If guns are not a problem, why did Jordan Smith die? - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It's hard to know what to believe. Hamilton police say our gun problem isn't getting any worse. That gangs aren't much of an issue. But then you look around and it seems like guns and gangs are everywhere. Not to mention that police are applying for a $70,000 grant to hire two new constables for the Gangs and Weapons Unit. The police even hope to unite specially trained cops from Hamilton, Niagara and Halton to create a permanent joint forces team dedicated to battling street gangs and guns. So what's an ordinary citizen supposed to think? In the last few weeks, hard on the heels of Toronto's blood-soaked summer of gang shootings, Hamilton, St. Catharines and Burlington have had their own share of troubles. In fact, during a span of just four days earlier this month guns and gangs were grabbing headlines across those communities. First there was Project Bulldog, the takedown of a major gun and drug network with connections to Hamilton, Niagara and Oakville as well as Vancouver and the U.S. More than 100 cops were involved in the bust and seized $1 million in Canadian cash, 16 handguns and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of drugs and property. Police blame a "non-traditional crime group" -- is that a gang? -- for the complex dealings. Then, a little more than a day later, Mike Parmer, a young man from Niagara Falls, N.Y., was shot dead in a parking lot here after spending the evening at an Ottawa Street North hip hop club. No arrests have been made, no description of the shooter has been released to the public, though police have said they have interviewed -- and reinterviewed -- as many as 20 witnesses. Police in Parmer's hometown say Hamilton cops contacted them a few weeks ago asking questions about some people in connection with the murder, but have not called again since. Just 22 hours after Parmer was gunned down, eight-year-old Jordan Smith was killed by a bullet as he slept in his own bed at his St. Catharines apartment. The shot bore through his bedroom ceiling and into his back. His upstairs neighbour was later arrested at gunpoint. After all that, it's hard not to think there's a problem. By coincidence, black leaders from our community just recently unveiled a new program to provide safe alternatives for youth in an effort to foster positive attitudes here and stave off gun and gang violence creeping in from Toronto. "I thought our kids were safe here," said Mary Helwig Hall, a member of Hamilton's Afro Canadian Caribbean Association. "But after speaking with local youths worried about gangs in their schools, I'm starting to think we have a potential problem here." That's where the confusion lies. Are gangs and guns a problem right now or just a potential problem? And, at what point -- how many guns, how many gangs, how many deaths? -- does it reach problem status? Who decides? The police? The public? Last month, Hamilton police said that according to their statistics, gun- related crimes are not on the rise. However they acknowledged the perception is that firearms incidents are escalating. Police also said most of the 230 active street gang members in Hamilton do not carry guns. At last week's meeting of the Hamilton Police Services Board, Chief Brian Mullan asked for and got permission to apply for a provincial Safe Communities grant to help hire two more police officers. That will in turn allow two more senior officers to be moved into the Gangs and Weapons Unit, which currently consists of just one officer. There is a "very minimal amount of gang activity" here, Mullan told the board. As for guns, they are being traded more and more often for drugs, he said. Asking for two more Gangs and Weapons Unit officers doesn't mean we have a problem, Mullan reassured the board. It is just a preventative measure to deal with issues that may be "migrating here from other communities." He named Toronto and the United States specifically. "We certainly have gangs and we certainly have guns," says Deputy Chief Tom Marlor. "But we have no significant problem here. And we don't want it to grow. We are being proactive to keep it under control." Halton and Niagara police are also seeking grants to add more gang and gun experts to their ranks. Niagara Chief Wendy Southall cites violent crimes like the fatal shooting of little Jordan Smith as well as the issue of the "integrity of the border" and the guns and gang violence that come across it as reasons for applying for the provincial funding. Prevention may be one of the reasons police leaders around here are readying to beef up their fight against guns and gangs. But there's likely some public relations going on as well. No matter what the statistics say about crimes related to gangs and firearms, the public is worried. And maybe, for police services wanting to instill confidence and improve their communities' quality of life, fighting fear is half the battle. Susan Clairmont's commentary appears regularly in The Spectator. sclairmont@thespec.com or 905-526-3539. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:32:21 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Letter: True gun culture exists PUBLICATION: WINNIPEG FREE PRESS DATE: 2005.09.27 PAGE: A12 SECTION: Focus WORD COUNT: 1106 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Letters to the Editor - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ True gun culture exists Whenever there is a senseless shooting by either gang members or drug dealers, the media inevitably refers to some nebulous gun culture as being part of the problem. This is a very misleading term for the average reader. Instead, an accurate description for this criminal behaviour would be culture of violence or criminal culture. The true gun culture (which has existed in Canada now for hundreds of years) is comprised of the law-abiding hunters, target shooters, and gun collectors. They have an appreciation of these tools for what they are and what they do. They constantly practise safe gun handling and teach it to others. They use them to pursue enjoyable pastimes such as hunting or target shooting. Some compete in the Olympics or preserve antique firearms for posterity. They treat firearms with the respect they deserve, break no laws and harm no one. This group has an enthusiasm for firearms as their hobby, as others do for model trains, cars, or coins. A carjacker who steals a car is not a car enthusiast. A thief who robs a bank is not a coin collector. So why does the media refer to murderous, drug-dealing sociopaths as being part of the gun culture? TOM McAuley Winnipeg ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 07:34:01 -0600 (CST) From: Breitkreuz@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca, Garry - Assistant 1 Subject: Probation for 15-year old had firearms, knives and 'hit list' of students Sender: owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Precedence: normal Reply-To: cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca PUBLICATION: Cape Breton Post DATE: 2005.09.27 SECTION: Atlantic PAGE: A7 COLUMN: In Brief SOURCE: CP DATELINE: MIRAMICHI, N.B. WORD COUNT: 216 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Youth sentenced to probation for threats - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A 15-year-old New Brunswick youth has been sentenced to the two years probation for uttering threats against his fellow classmates last spring. The young man pleaded guilty last month to threatening students at Miramichi Valley High School. Another student complained that the youth threatened to kill him in an Internet chatline conversation with a third student. The RCMP seized a computer hard-drive from the home of the youth, along with several firearms, knives and a "hit list" with around 40 names. A joint recommendation was made by Crown prosecutor Darlene Blunston and defence lawyer George Martin to impose an eight-month sentence. Judge William McCarroll said he would have imposed a sentence of eight to 10 months. However, he noted the boy - who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act - has already been in jail for the past five months. The youth, wearing a red shirt, stood up inside the prisoners box and made a brief statement before sentencing. "I would like to apologize for what I said," the youth said. "I really regret that this happened. I would just like to apologize to the people involved." Along with the probation order, McCarroll imposed several conditions. The youth will not be allowed to attend any public school in District 6, the body that oversees Miramichi-area schools. He is to adhere to a curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. unless he has permission beforehand from his probation officer or is accompanied by his guardian. He's also to abstain from alcohol and all non-prescribed drugs and can't live in a residence with weapons, firearms, ammunition, etc. ------------------------------ End of Cdn-Firearms Digest V8 #443 ********************************** Submissions: mailto:cdn-firearms-digest@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Mailing List Commands: mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca Moderator's e-mail address: mailto:akimoya@cogeco.ca List owner: mailto:owner-cdn-firearms@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca FAQ list: http://www.magma.ca/~asd/cfd-faq1.html and http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/Faq/cfd-faq1.html Web Site: http://teapot.usask.ca/cdn-firearms/homepage.html FTP Site: ftp://teapot.usask.ca/pub/cdn-firearms/ CFDigest Archives: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ab133/ or put the next command in an e-mail message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca get cdn-firearms-digest v04.n192 end (192 is the digest issue number and 04 is the volume) To unsubscribe from _all_ the lists, put the next five lines in a message and mailto:majordomo@sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca unsubscribe cdn-firearms-digest unsubscribe cdn-firearms-alert unsubscribe cdn-firearms-chat unsubscribe cdn-firearms end (To subscribe, use "subscribe" instead of "unsubscribe".) If you find this service valuable, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the freenet we use: Saskatoon Free-Net Assoc., P.O. Box 1342, Saskatoon SK S7K 3N9 Phone: (306) 382-7070 Home page: http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/ These e-mail digests are free to everyone, and are made possible by the efforts of countless volunteers. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this digest as long as it not altered in any way.