It took two-and-a-half years, but a Lambton County man who Sarnia police said was caught with a stun gun in his backpack amid a traffic stop has finally dealt with the charges.
Jeffery Minzen, a 36-year-old Port Franks resident at the time, was charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and breaching probation on April 27, 2020, after the car he was riding in was stopped by police at Roger and Maxwell streets. Minzen had an outstanding warrant at the time, and police found the weapon after arresting him.
On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to both charges, along with a third probation breach, and was handed a 75-day jail sentence.
“I just want to say that I’m sorry,” Minzen said to the judge.
The award he received included 30 days for the stun gun, which was forfeited.
“Prohibited weapons and weapons in general obviously are something that needs to be taken seriously. They have been increasing in their prevalence within our system,” assistant Crown attorney Lori MacIntosh said. “Especially Tasers.”
Before imposing that sentence both lawyers suggested, Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski’s attention was drawn to Minzen’s criminal record.
“Your criminal record is curious in that there’s nothing on it until 2016 and then there is a significant number of convictions since then,” she said.
In December 2016, Minzen was placed on a year’s probation for being the ringleader in a fraudulent credit card scheme.
Defense lawyer Joseph Stoesser said his client’s life started spiraling downwards in 2014 after he turned to drugs amid losing his job and his relationship.
“He is a crystal meth addict,” the lawyer said, but since 2020 Minzen has been, for the most part, clean.
“I appreciate that context,” Leszczynski said.
The judge agreed not to add probation to the sentence as Stoesser requested, but strongly encouraged Minzen to reach out for professional help in the community after he’s released from jail in a couple of months.
“When you indicate that you’ve been doing better, I hope that is obviously the case, Mr. Minzen,” she said.
He’s banned from weapons, including legal ones, for five years.