Ryan Pinnance was facing a slew of serious weapons charges after a swath of highly-trained provincial police officers surrounded his trailer on Walpole Island First Nation.
But he ended up only pleading guilty to possession of a firearm – a rifle – without a license and storing that rifle in a careless manner after police found dozens of long guns and ammunition in his home at the First Nation between Sarnia and Chatham. He received a suspended sentence based on one year of probation and a 10-year weapons ban while losing all the weapons.
Justice George Orsini pointed out to Pinnance, 31, he had the ability to store the firearms properly as a shotgun and two other rifles were in a stand when police raided his home on June 29, 2021, but one rifle was resting on the other guns in front of the stand.
“So it’s not as though you didn’t know what was required,” the judge said.
First Nation police were initially sent to his home on Squirrel Island Road around 8 pm that Tuesday night for a weapons complaint, but were quickly joined by multiple high-level provincial police squads.
“Members of the OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit, OPP Emergency Response Team, OPP Canine Unit and OPP Crisis Negotiators responded to the area and subsequently took an individual into custody without incident,” Lambton OPP said in a statement the next day. “No injuries have been reported.”
Police found Pinnance, who’d been drinking, sleeping in a trailer on the property and they saw some guns and ammo, so they secured the mobile home while they waited for a search warrant. After it arrived they seized various rifles and shotguns, ammunition, magazines and other accessories.
They also found an expired firearms possession and acquisition license in his wallet.
Pinnance was initially charged with three counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm and single counts of pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assault with a weapon, and discharging a firearm with intent. But he only pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm without a license and storing a firearm in a careless manner. The court did not hear any facts related to the other charges, which were dropped.
Pinnance declined a chance to address the court.
Assistant Crown attorney Mikesh Mistry and defense lawyer David Stoesser both suggested the suspended sentence, probation order and weapons ban. The weapons police seized, which Stoesser said are pretty valuable, are being transferred to a family member.