Man sentenced for pointing BB gun while high on meth

A Summerside man was sentenced Wednesday to three months in jail for wandering a city street and pointing a BB gun at passing cars while drunk and high on methamphetamine.

Kyle Lawrence Benoit, 27, was arrested on the night of Sept. 18 after several people reported a man walking down South Drive, pointing what looked like a rifle at anyone who crossed his path.

When police found Benoit, he initially lifted his weapon at a Summerside police officer’s vehicle

“It’s becoming clear to me and to others who work with criminal justice, (methamphetamine) tends to create violence in individuals who were not previously known to be violent.” Defence lawyer Trish Cheverie

before realizing who was confronting him and he dropped the firearm and surrendered. Police discovered the weapon Benoit had been pointing was a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun, which looks similar to a real rifle. They also said the accused was incoherent during his arrest, claiming to be Russell Crowe’s character from the movie “Gladiator,” that he knew who killed Elvis Presley, that he was psychic and the people he had pointed the gun at were devil worshipers.

Benoit was originally facing multiple weapon charges as a result of the incident, but Crown lawyer David O’Brien and the defence attorney Trish Cheverie agreed on a joint sentencing recommendation where he would plead guilty to a single charge of pointing a firearm. Benoit was sentenced to three months in jail, minus 30 days for time he’s already served in custody.

O’Brien said the sentence should act as a deterrent while also acknowledging that Benoit needs treatment for mental health and addictions issues. Cheverie indicated that her client is remorseful for his actions and that he has been trying to get clean for a while, but has faced a number of challenges.

Her client has an extensive criminal record, she added, but most of those charges could be classified as “nuisances,” while this incident is very out of character and can probably be linked to his use of methamphetamine.

“It’s becoming clear to me and to others who work with criminal justice, (methamphetamine) tends to create violence in individuals who were not previously known to be violent,” said Cheverie.

Judge Jeff Lantz accepted the joint recommendation.

He also added that, given recent world events, Benoit is lucky he or someone else wasn’t hurt or killed during this tense situation. This is the second case of someone brandishing a bb or pellet gun to make its way through Summerside provincial court this month.

Adrian Steven Gallant, 27, was arrested in downtown Summerside on Sept. 5. for approaching a car with a pellet gun.

He was sentenced to 120 days in jail.