$5K fine for man who brought loaded gun across U.S.-Canada border

(Pexels)

A man who was found with a loaded handgun in his car when crossing the U.S.-Canada border has been fined $5,000 and a 10-year weapons prohibition.

Zhijian Situ, who lives in Washington state, was stopped at the Pacific Highway border crossing in Surrey in November of 2022 where agents found a Beretta 92X semi-automatic pistol in his Mercedes Benz, according to a recently published provincial court decision. The weapon is restricted in Canada and the magazine with which it was loaded is prohibited in Canada.

"The careless transport of such a firearm in an unlocked centre console crossing an international border is very aggravating. It put the lives of first responders at our border at risk and thereafter put the lives of persons in this country at risk," Judge Kimberley Arthur-Leung wrote in the sentencing decision.

Situ has a concealed pistol licence for the weapon in the U.S., which members of the Canada Border Service Agency found in one of his pockets when they pulled him over for an inspection, the court heard. Situ denied having any firearms in the vehicle when asked and when the weapon was found he initially told guards he did not know how it ended up in his car. Ultimately, he admitted to putting it there and forgetting about it.

"While inadvertence and forgetfulness is most obviously not a deliberate action on the part of Mr. Situ, his failure to be a responsible citizen to check a vehicle and make truthful declarations multiple times is very concerning," Arthur-Leung wrote.

"Guns and violence sadly continue in this country unabated, with firearms and guns entering this country through our borders…His actions put the safety of our frontline CBSA officers at risk and jeopardized the safety of the community in this country."

The defence was asking the court for an absolute discharge – which means guilt is admitted but a conviction is not entered. If granted, Situ would have had no criminal record and he would not have had to comply with any court-ordered conditions.

Arthur-Leung declined to grant a discharge in the case, citing a number of aggravating factors including the apparent failure to be truthful with the border guards and the "careless transport" of the weapon.

The fact that the semi-automatic pistol and the bullets were illegal for Situ to possess in Canada was also considered aggravating.

The difference In Canadian and American gun laws was alluded to several times in the decision. Situ, as someone who had entered the country multiple times and who was seeking permanent residency, had an obligation to understand those differences and to comply with the law on each side of the border, Arthur-Leung said.

"The gun culture in the United States of America is enshrined in the second amendment of the United States Constitution setting out the person’s right to bear arms. There never has been such notion of entitlement in Canada," she wrote.

"Canada has historically had and continues to have a very different philosophy that is reflected in its laws and regulations surrounding weapons and firearms and thus has always placed strict limitations on the movement, transport, possession and use of firearms in Canada."

The $5,000 fine is the maximum for the offence and Arthur-Leung found it was appropriate in the circumstances despite the mitigating factor of a guilty plea. Situ will also have to pay a victim surcharge and the province is seeking the forfeiture of his weapon.