A Brantford man, already sentenced to prison for carrying a loaded sawed-off shotgun in his pants as he biked around town in the middle of the night, got more time behind bars for having another shotgun.
Last year, Dalton Jacob McEwan, 26, received a three-year penitentiary term when he pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a prohibited firearm, obstruction of police and breach of release orders, all relating to a Nov. 30, 2020 , offense.
Instead of being shipped to prison, McEwan was held in a provincial jail to face further charges. Recently, in Ontario Court, he pleaded guilty to unauthorized possession of a pump-action Browning shotgun and failing to comply with release orders.
Assistant Crown attorney Michael Dean told court how, on one afternoon last May, Brantford police were asked to check on the well-being of a Murray Street woman who communicated to someone that there were people in her apartment planning to rob her. Officers found McEwan in a bedroom and two people hiding in a bathtub. McEwan was arrested on an outstanding warrant.
A police search yielded a black satchel containing drugs and a sawed-off shotgun, which had its serial number removed. Fifteen rounds of loose ammunition also were found.
McEwan admitted the gun was his.
The Crown and defense jointly recommended to Justice Gethin Edward that McEwan be sentenced to 15 more months in prison.
“He wants to complete his high school education and go to a halfway house in Hamilton,” said defense lawyer Dean Embry. “And then get further from the Brantford community.”
McEwan said he is sorry for his actions.
“I plan to better myself in the future. I want to lead a better life.”
Edward urged McEwan to take advantage of being in prison to wean himself from drugs and take as many education courses as possible.
“You’ve demonstrated a willingness to sort thought the outstanding matters so I will accept the joint submission.”
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