Guns purchased by a Courtenay man sentenced last month on firearms charges have turned up in several criminal cases, including a shooting and two home invasions.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robin Baird handed Bryce McDonald a 40-month sentence Nov. 7 for storing restricted firearms in an unauthorized place and in a careless manner.
But McDonald was never charged with the fact that more than 30 restricted firearms he purchased went missing — something Baird said earlier was “probably sinister.”
Now more details about where some of the guns ended up have been released in the judge’s written reasons for sentencing.
An affidavit filed by the Crown at McDonald’s sentencing hearing said police found six of the missing guns while investigating other crimes, including a June 21, 2014 shooting at Brentwood Mall that injured a man.
“In July 2014, a suspect turned himself in claiming responsibility for this shooting. He surrendered the gun that he had used. It was a 9mm Luger registered to Mr. McDonald,” Baird noted.
The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit raided McDonald’s house and storage locker in December 2013 and found just 19 firearms, both restricted and unrestricted, even though records showed McDonald had purchased 49 restricted guns since getting his licence in 2009.
That led to a dozen charges against McDonald, a Hells Angels associate.
CFSEU Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said Friday that the investigation into McDonald was closed, despite the fact that some of his missing guns have turned up in other criminal cases.
“That investigation into McDonald … concluded,” Houghton said. “But, like in any case, (there could be) a re-examination or new investigation should new information come to our attention.”
Baird said the fact the other guns were used in criminal activity was an aggravating factor in sentencing McDonald.
“I remind myself that Mr. McDonald was not charged with and has not been convicted of firearms trafficking. The Crown makes no such allegation. But the issue of the missing guns is surely an aggravating factor on the present convictions which focus upon Mr. McDonald’s flagrant misconduct as a licensed gun owner and the scope of his unlawful behaviour in managing his gun collection,” he said.
Baird said McDonald had lied when asked what happened to the missing guns.
“Mr. McDonald knows perfectly well where these guns have gone, but he has refused to tell the truth about it,” Baird said. “Instead, he has brazenly and repeatedly lied to me about this issue, and his dishonesty has persisted down to the present moment.”
