Accused had 2 guns, jury told
Trial begins for man charged with weapons offences following incident in parking lot at Penticton diner
A Penticton man accused of having a restricted handgun in his pants pocket in the Denny’s parking lot is looking to prove his innocence to a Penticton jury.
Cody Wilson is charged with two counts of possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and improper storage of a firearm. Crown counsel Andrew Vandersluys dropped charges of pointing a firearm and resisting a peace officer at the outset of the trial, which began Friday in B.C. Supreme Court in Penticton.
Vandersluys told the 11-person jury the case is not complicated. He said the evidence will show that on the afternoon of Oct. 7, 2016, a distraught woman called the RCMP from the Penticton Denny’s restaurant, saying her boyfriend was in the parking lot with possession of two handguns.
Upon his arrest by police, a baton and a loaded handgun were found on Wilson, and another loaded handgun was located under the passenger seat of his vehicle, according to the testimony from the first two police officers on the scene, constables Ryan Goffic and Dennis Mahar.
Wilson, wearing a blue-and-black collared shirt and jeans, appeared to be falling asleep in his chair during the Crown’s opening statement and through multiple points of the morning’s proceedings.
Goffic testified Friday he and Mahar were able to catch Wilson by surprise after responding to the call around 5 p.m. in the parking lot, where Wilson was on his phone in a Dodge truck.
Goffic and Mahar said police had received a 911 call earlier from a man who said a gun had been pointed at him in the parking lot as well.
“We felt that Mr. Wilson indeed had firearms on him. We had two separate parties reporting the same information,” Goffic said.
Wilson resisted, Goffic said, as he attempted to pull him from the vehicle and throughout the arrest, with three officers needed to put him in handcuffs.
“It’s in my experience that people that are high on drugs, illicit drugs, they have much more strength than a normal human being that is sober, and it is very difficult to control someone who doesn’t want to be controlled when they’re high on drugs and don’t feel pain,” Goffic said.
Defence counsel Michael Patterson brought forward video evidence, which appeared to be from a cellphone video of Wilson’s arrest.
The video depicts Wilson on the ground in front of the restaurant, screaming loudly, asking why he is under arrest (which officers eventually tell him) and sounding as if he is in pain as three officers attempt to detain him.
Both Goffic and Mahar stuck to their testimony that Goffic retrieved the baton from Wilson’s back pocket and Mahar located the handgun.
Patterson asked both officers if they changed their mind after seeing the video, which neither did.
“I can’t say for certain,” Goffic responded when Patterson asked him if an object in the video was the baton. “It’s very grainy.”
Patterson also questioned whether Goffic could hear Wilson saying “I can’t” in response to police telling him to put his hands behind his back.
“He may have said it, but there was a lot of screaming,” Goffic said.
Goffic said while recounting the events of the afternoon that Wilson was sent to hospital for injuries.
The case is scheduled to continue Monday and expected to conclude Tuesday.