Jail sentence for woman who scared kids with gun

A judge referenced Regina’s growing gun problem in sentencing a woman who frightened a group of 10-year-old girls while brandishing a handgun.

Janaya Rachel Kinequon, 24, had a limited criminal record when she was sentenced this week for possession of a prohibited weapon, common assault, uttering threats and a breach of a release condition pertaining to weapons possession. Kinequon pleaded guilty to the offences last week.

Regina provincial court Judge Lane Wiegers had set the matter over to decide between additional jail time and a community-based sentence. He determined the offence serious enough to merit a custody term and imposed a total of 12 months.

“Without question, in recent years, the number of gun-related crimes has increased significantly in Regina,” he said. “Any judge or practitioner who spends time in the provincial court’s custody court will frequently see cases involving handguns or sawed-off long guns . ... Of course, I’m not expecting Miss Kinequon to answer for the crimes of others. What is important, however, is that I impose a sentence that recognizes that she has contributed to a major public safety problem. It is paramount that the court respond to it by giving substance to the community’s revulsion over gun crime.”

After granting Kinequon credit for the time she’s already spent on remand, Wiegers imposed an additional 53 days.

The offences date back to April 19, when an intoxicated Kinequon approached four young girls playing in an alley near Minto Street.

Court heard that Kinequon yelled at the girls, told them to get out of there and said, “Something ’s about to go down.” She was holding a handgun and said she was police.

The girls ran to a nearby house where the parents of one of the girls were. The parents saw Kinequon insert a magazine into the gun and tuck it into her pants.

The father approached Kinequon, intending to stop her, while his wife called 911 from her cellphone. A struggle ensued, during which the husband suffered torn ligaments to a knee and the wife was punched in the face. Court heard Kinequon threatened to kill the couple and their daughter.

Police arrived and arrested Kinequon, who also was injured during the struggle with the couple. She claimed to police that the couple planted the gun on her. It was found to be unloaded.

Wiegers said while Kinequon expressed remorse during sentencing submissions last week and is amenable to addictions treatment and counselling, offences involving firearms need to be treated seriously.

“First, Miss Kinequon possessed a handgun in a public area where one can reasonably expect people to be present,” he said. “Second, there actually were members of the public present at the time. Third, she produced a handgun and openly and purposely displayed it.”