Three years federal time for weapons stash
Judge Jeff Lantz says former RCMP officer Jeffrey Rae Gillis’s real victim is the community
Former RCMP officer Jeffrey Rae Gillis has been sentenced to three years in a federal penitentiary.
In February 2016, Gillis, who says he suffers from severe posttraumatic stress disorder, was found to have a stash of weapons and 27 cases of ammunition in his Charlottetown home. The officer had so much unsecured, improperly stored ammunition it took a half-ton truck to pick it up. The weapons included restricted and prohibited guns, with unsecured ammunition nearby, that Gillis was supposed to have destroyed as part of his police work.
Instead, he diverted some of those guns and ammo to his home for what would become a massive collection.
Gillis no longer works for the RCMP or any police force. Judge Jeff Lantz sentenced Gillis in provincial court in Charlottetown Friday. Lantz reviewed some of the key points of the case.
It began with a complaint of assault against Gillis received by Charlottetown Police Services. During that investigation, officers met Gillis at his home and found the guns.
The officers knew Gillis well. He was the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team officer working with both the local RCMP detachments and Charlottetown police.
“It supports law enforcement efforts to counter the illegal movement of firearms into and within Canada and their subsequent violent criminal use,” says the support team’s website. When the assault case came to court, justice officials prepared a report into the personal circumstances of Gillis.
The report said the 20-year RCMP veteran suffered PTSD, anger issues and a personality disorder.
Lantz noted all that mental health history related to Gillis was not brought back directly to the court for these weapons charges, and so could not play a significant role in the sentencing.
After a few starts and stops, mostly about the admissibility of the seized guns and ammo, Gillis entered a guilty plea to some of his charges while others were dropped.
In the sentencing Friday, Lantz paid special attention to the Criminal Code charges against Gillis that made reference to breach of trust.
“(The charges involve) a police officer that society expects to be trustworthy,” said Lantz.
“In this case you could argue the victim is the community.” Lantz said Gillis would be well aware his stash could have been stolen from his home, or he might have used a gun in a moment of anger.
Lantz said Gillis might have a “possibility of rehabilitation” in time to come.
Lantz banned Gillis from owning any weapon for 10 years, to have his DNA profile entered into a national databank, and to pay $1,000 to the victims of crime fund.