Cardston men facing weapons charges
STORE OWNERS HAVE MORSE THAN $1 MILLION OF INVENTORY SEIZED
Two owners of a Cardston store face charges, and more than a million dollars of inventory has been seized, after allegations of firearms sold to unlicensed customers.
ALERT Lethbridge’s organized crime and gang team and the RCMP National Weapons Enforcement Support Team conducted a fivemonth investigation into K&D Implements in Cardston. They executed a search warrant on May 29 with the assistance of Cardston RCMP and Lethbridge Police.
Dean Sommerfeldt, 58, and Todd Sommerfeldt, 31, were arrested and jointly charged with trafficking a firearm, possession of weapons for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of a restricted weapon, and transfer of a weapon and/or ammunition without authority.
The entire store’s firearms inventory of 1,000 guns and one million rounds of ammunition was also seized. The estimated value of the seized items is between $1.2 and $1.4 million.
Both men were released from custody on a number of courtimposed conditions, including not to possess any firearms. Their next scheduled court appearance is June 19 in Cardston.
ALERT alleges K&D Implements was selling firearms and ammunition illegally. The store owners are accused of failing to ensure that firearms purchasers provided valid Possession Acquisition Licences (PAL), hence the charge of firearms trafficking.
“This gun store needlessly put public safety at risk by allowing conceivably anybody to acquire guns,” said ALERT Lethbridge Staff Sgt. Jason Walper. “We would be naïve to think that organized crime and the criminal element did not take advantage of this opportunity.”
Walper isn’t sure how long the business was allegedly selling the firearms illegally, nor what the motive may have been. Police are not aware of any crimes committed using the illegally sold firearms, he said, but it’s “certainly, without a doubt, a grave possibility.
“Again, their actions put the public and public safety at risk and it’s possible somebody could have been harmed, seriously wounded or killed because of a firearm that hits the streets. It’s a big concern to us.”
The investigation started after a number of public complaints alleging the owners were trafficking firearms and ammunition without having the customer produce a valid PAL.
There is a stringent process to obtain a PAL, Walper explained, which includes taking an operations and safety course and a background check.
“Potentially any person could have walked into that store and purchased a firearm, without producing the adequate safeguards that we’ve put into place to ensure only those individuals that should have firearms, get the firearms.”
During the investigation, ALERT utilized a variety of specialized techniques and resources to support the allegations. Investigators allege these offences took place on a number of occasions.
NWEST will conduct further analysis on the items seized, which include: over 1 million rounds of ammunition; 49 handguns; 972 long guns; 270 kilograms of gun powder; 446 kg of Tannerite, a binary explosive material; and 12,000 firearm primers.
K&D Implements sells a variety of merchandise and will remain open, however, there will be no sales of firearms or ammunition as the store is under review by the Chief Firearms Office.
Glenn Henry, detachment commander with the Coaldale RCMP, said the investigation is a good example of collaboration with all police jurisdictions.
“I think without the ALERT teams, the RCMP detachments — in this case Cardston — would have some difficulties in doing a thorough, complete investigation. So we’re very thankful that we have these resources and that we work so well together.”
Henry said he wants to recognize the RCMP officers on the frontlines day after day who detect these types of occurrences. In this case, it was a member of the Cardston RCMP who recognized the need for a larger investigation.
“It was really the catalyst to present a package to the ALERT team to take it and continue to the outcome that we have today.”
Over the years, police are seeing more and more firearm-related investigations take place, said Walper.
“It’s a concern to us publicly and a concern to police, NWEST and the RCMP. We’re going to continue to investigate any allegations of firearms trafficking very seriously, obviously with the potential for violence that comes out of that,” he said.
“At the end of the day our job here with ALERT and the RCMP and NWEST is to promote safe communities and to work together collaboratively so that everyone involved in our community are safe, that people who are not allowed to have firearms and ammunition are unable to acquire these items, and certainly those that are obeying the firearms laws continue to do so.”
Follow @MelissaVHerald on Twitter