ATHABASCA – A rural Athabasca County resident was caught with a variety of illegal firearms after the RCMP were called to his property during a domestic dispute, landing himself a $1,000 fine and a year-long firearms prohibition.
Westley Boisson pleaded guilty to unauthorized possession of a firearm during his Nov. 25 appearance in Athabasca’s courthouse, agreeing to a $1,000 fine as part of a joint submission between Crown prosecutor Matthew Kerr and defence counsellor Richard Forbes.
On Aug. 27, the Athabasca RCMP were called out to Boisson’s rural property after his partner called and said he had a firearm. He was arrested without incident, and the RCMP were unable to locate any firearms after a consent search.
The next morning, he was re-arrested after the police reviewed the file. During questioning, Boisson admitted to owning two weapons, a shotgun and a rifle, despite not having a possession and acquisition licence.
He drew the police a map, indicating where the firearms were. The RCMP found scattered ammunition throughout the property.
“Mr. Boisson is here because he came to the police and told them where these firearms were. He’s taken responsibility, not just today, but on the date of the offence by telling the RCMP that the firearms were on his property,” said Forbes.
As part of Boisson’s plea, additional charges for possessing a firearm while knowingly prohibited and mischief damage under $5,000 were withdrawn. Boisson will have a year-long firearms prohibition and forfeited the seized weapons to the RCMP.
“Truthfully, the ancillary orders are more onerous than the fine,” said Kerr. “He’s got 15 convictions over 20 years, they’re all unrelated offences. He’s taking responsibility, expressing remorse, and he was cooperative with the police from a very early point in the file.”
