B.C. man gets 18 months in jail after undercover Mountie delivers Tasers to home
A British Columbia man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail after an undercover Mountie delivered a package containing two imported Tasers to a home in the Okanagan.
James Ashley Jerome Cousineau, 44, pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon. He told the court he ordered the weapons as a "joke" when he was drunk, according to provincial court Judge Clarke Burnett's sentencing decision on Dec. 13.
The police investigation began after the Canadian Border Services Agency intercepted a package containing two Tasers on Dec. 21, 2021, and alerted the RCMP. The package was addressed to Cousineau at a residence in Naramata, B.C.
Ten days later, the CBSA contacted the Mounties again after two more packages for Cousineau, containing a total of nine Tasers, were identified bound for a residence in Penticton, B.C.
It was then that the RCMP decided to conduct a "controlled delivery" of the first package to the Naramata home.
'ALL THIS FOR A TASER'
On Jan 19, 2022, an undercover officer delivered the package containing two Tasers to the residence. Police had outfitted the package with an alarm to alert officers once the package had been opened.
"Shortly after delivery, the alarm went off indicating the package had been opened," the judge wrote. "Members of the RCMP Emergency Response Team secured the residence pending receipt of a search warrant."
Cousineau, his girlfriend and two other people were found inside the home, according to the court document.
"Man this is crazy," Cousineau said to police who were securing the residence, according to the judge. "All this for a Taser."
A search of the home recovered the two Tasers as well as various guns, including a shotgun, a rifle, a prohibited high-capacity magazine loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition, a 9mm pistol and a prohibited .22-calibre Luger rifle fitted with a prohibited silencer, according to the sentencing decision.
At the time of the search, Cousineau was prohibited from possessing any weapons following a "lengthy criminal record" that includes convictions for drug trafficking and assault with a weapon, the judge wrote.
Cousineau's criminal record and weapons prohibitions were cited as aggravating factors at sentencing, as was the apparent planning that went into the purchase of the Tasers.
"This was not a spontaneous offence," the judge wrote. "Mr. Cousineau took steps to seek out and acquire multiple Tasers. He had to acquire them outside of Canada. He arranged three separate shipments of them, addressed to two different addresses."
Cousineau's guilty plea was cited as a mitigating factor, as was his support from community members who "have indicated a willingness to assist in his rehabilitation."
"I am mindful of the fact that I am only sentencing Mr. Cousineau for the offence of possession of the Taser; I am not sentencing him for importing the Tasers or any other offences related to the firearms or other prohibited devices," the judge wrote.
"However, the facts surrounding the acquiring by Mr. Cousineau of the Taser and the presence of the firearms and prohibited devices in the same location where the Taser was discovered are extremely aggravating."
In addition to 18 months imprisonment, Cousineau was ordered to submit a DNA sample and forfeit all the property seized during the police search to the Crown.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
'Do not consume': Gift Chocolate recalled due to undeclared milk, soy
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Ontario to ban use of cellphones in school classrooms starting in September
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
BREAKING Quebec to invest $603 million to protect the French language
Quebec will invest $603 million over five years to counter the decline of French in the province, French Language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge announced Sunday.
Key mediator Qatar urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a cease-fire deal
A senior Qatari official has urged Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a ceasefire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Campus anti-war protesters dig in across U.S. as schools, police take action
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war woke up in tents at college campuses across the United States Sunday morning planning more protests demanding that schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies accused of enabling the conflict.