A Sarnia man accused of pointing a handgun at a stranger’s head while they were fishing near Sarnia’s Ferry Dock Hill has been sentenced to 3 1/2 months time served for assault with a weapon.
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The weapon turned out to be a metal object, not a handgun, but the judge who sentenced Edward Oliver last week still called it a serious incident.
The victim “had ample reason to fear for his safety,” Justice Mark Hornblower said.
A man – Justin Thedorf, according to court records – was fishing in the St. Clair River on July 26, 2023, when he was approached by an unknown man who tried to strike up an unsolicited conversation, Sarnia police said at the time.
“When the victim would not engage with him, the suspect suddenly produced a handgun and pointed it directly at the victim’s head. A short exchange of words took place and the suspect fled,” police alleged at the time.
Court heard Oliver told Thedorf to reel in his rod and step away from his backpack. A nervous Thedorf did so and tried to leave, but Oliver stood in front of him, holding what he thought was a handgun or BB gun centimeters from his face.
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“Mr. Thedorf was extremely fearful at that point given the object that was in his face,” assistant Crown attorney Sarah Carmody said.
It turned out to be just a metal object and Oliver, who told Thedorf he was looking for something he lost, didn’t take any of his property and left on a bicycle. Thedorf, who had no cellphone, waited about 15 minutes before walking to police headquarters nearby to report the incident.
On the way there, he ran into Oliver again at the Christina Street North 7-Eleven. Oliver asked him, “Are we good?” then added, “Next time just do what I say,” court heard.
After Thedorf reported the incident to police, officers got video surveillance from the convenience store and recognized Oliver.
Oliver, then 39, was charged with pointing a firearm, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, carrying a concealed weapon, assault with a weapon, and failing to comply with a release order, which included a ban on possessing firearms or replicas, police said at the time.
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Oliver, who had just been sentenced to a 96-day, time-served sentence for unrelated convictions at the time, got bail nine days later.
Scheduled for trial last week in Sarnia, Oliver instead pleaded guilty to breaching bail and assault with a weapon and got a 105-day, time-served sentence. The rest of the charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.
Defense lawyer Autumn Johnson told the judge her client is from Aamjiwnaang First Nation, but has struggled with addiction issues and homelessness and now lives in Rainbow Park. But they’re hoping he can get into rehab soon.
“Mr. Oliver, it seems the roots of the issue involving Mr. Thedorf are many,” Hornblower said, referring to his homelessness and substance abuse.
On June 15, 2023, Oliver was sentenced to 96 days time served pleading guilty to two counts of breaching bail and one count of breaching probation. The probation order was part of a sentence, including six months of house arrest, he received in May 2021 for a slew of charges including the masked robbery of a south Sarnia convenience store in April 2020.
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