Farmer acquitted of Boushie murder fined

NORTH BATTLEFORD • The Saskatchewan farmer acquitted in the shooting death of a young Indigenous man two months ago was met by angry shouts of “murderer” when he arrived at court Monday to answer for six rifles and shotguns he had stored in his basement.

Gerald Stanley’s acquittal in February after the fatal shooting of Colten Boushie, 22, sparked a debate over how the justice system treats Indigenous people, but inside the North Battleford provincial court, Monday’s guilty plea was narrowly focused on firearm regulations.

Stanley pleaded guilty to one charge of unsafe storage of a firearm. The charges date back to Aug. 9, 2016, when Stanley shot Boushie. After the shooting, RCMP officers searched Stanley’s property and found the guns in the basement; none had trigger locks.

A second charge of the improper storage of a restricted firearm, a handgun, was withdrawn due to lack of evidence. The charges were not related to the semi-automatic pistol used in the shooting.

Stanley was ordered to pay $3,900 and is prohibited from owning weapons for 10 years.

Stanley’s lawyer, Scott Spencer, said the collection of long-barrel guns is not uncommon for a rural farmhouse but told court a weapons prohibition is fine with Stanley, saying: “Frankly, he wishes he had never owned a gun.”

Spencer and prosecutor Chris Browne jointly submitted the sentence recommendation. Judge Bruce Bauer agreed the sentence was within the range for a storage violation — even in the higher end of the typical range.

When Stanley was given the opportunity to speak, he declined.

The incident remains a deeply acrimonious one. Members of Boushie’s family were in court for the appearance and greeted Stanley with profanity and shouts of “murderer” when he arrived. Some wore shirts stating “Justice for Colten.”

Boushie’s brother, Jace Baptiste, said it hurt to see Stanley walking into court.

“If that was me or any other Indigenous person that was standing trial for murder or any kind of gun charges, we’d be on remand,” Baptiste said. “We wouldn’t be out walking freely in street clothes, smiling around. We’d be sitting in jail clothes, incarcerated.”