City man fined nearly $2,000 for possessing firearm without license
By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on November 25, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A Lethbridge man was fined nearly $2,000 after he was caught with a stolen handgun early last year.On March 22, 2021 a city resident told police one of his firearms had disappeared and police began an investigation, during which they learned from a third party that Gage Eresman had been showing his friend a gun that matched the description of the stolen gun.
Police searched the home of Eresman’s father and found a loaded, restricted Springfield XD40 pistol in a bedroom closet.
During a hearing Thursday in Lethbridge provincial court Crown Prosecutor James Rouleau said he didn’t know who loaded the gun or actually placed it in the closet, but it was in the accused’s possession, and he didn’t have a licence to lawfully own it.
“What I can put before the court is that that firearm matches the firearm that was stolen and so at one point in time Gage Eresman, whether he put it in the closet or not, had that firearm in his possession,” Rouleau said.
Eresman, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm knowing he didn’t have a licence, and he was fined $1,600, including a $300 victim-fine surcharge. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while prohibited and was fined another $1,600.
When police arrested Eresman for the firearm offences, he was driving a Jeep Wrangler despite having been suspended following a conviction for impaired driving in 2020.
Eresman had previously pleaded not guilty to the two charges, and was set to stand trial next year on those and numerous related charges, including careless use/storage of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm, and altering, defacing or removing the serial number of a firearm.
Rather than stand trial, however, defence and the Crown reached a deal in which Eresman chose to plead guilty to two of the charges.
“The Crown has given up its ability to prosecute Mr. Eresman further,” Calgary lawyer David Chow said. “Mr. Eresman has given up what I would call quality defences with his case.”
Chow also noted that a co-accused, Kevin Eresman, received a similar sentence last week.
“Mr. Eresman is remorseful for the events that bring him here to court,” Chow added.
Eresman is also prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years, and from driving for one year. Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter 4
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