Cardston businessman pleads guilty to weapons charges
Charges against son will be withdrawn
ACardston businessman charged in 2017 with several weapons-related offences, and who was set to stand trial Monday in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench, has pleaded guilty and could be sentenced later this year.
Dean Dan Sommerfeldt and his son Todd Dean Sommerfeldt were scheduled for a month-long trial on charges of weapon trafficking, transfer of a weapon and/or ammunition without authority, careless storage of a restricted weapon and unauthorized possession of a weapon. However, on Monday Dean Sommerfeldt pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawfully transferring firearms and ammunition and one count of contravening the Firearms Act relating to the storage, handling,
transportation, shipping, display, advertising or mail-order sales of firearms and restricted weapons.
His sentencing has been adjourned to Dec. 9, to provide time for the preparation of a pre-sentence report, which is used to help the judge render a fit sentence. His remaining charges, and all the charges against his son Todd, who is prohibited from possessing weapons and firearms for four years, will be withdrawn after the sentencing hearing in December.
That hearing, court was told, may be adjourned if the pre-sentence report is not completed.
Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Crown prosecutor Bruce Ainscough said police authorities were notified in the fall of 2016 that employees of K&D Implements in Cardston were selling ammunition without ensuring the purchaser had a PAL, possession and acquisition licence.
In early 2017, NWEST, the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team, received information from several sources that Dean Sommerfeldt, the store owner, was selling firearms without ensuring customers had their PAL. In February ALERT, the Lethbridge Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team, CFSEU, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, and NWEST began a joint investigation and two undercover officers were assigned to the case.
The two officers conducted 12 undercover operations in which they pretended to be customers and were able to purchase guns and ammunition. On April 22, 2017 one of the undercover officers purchased a 20-gauge shotgun and a .410 shotgun, as well as shells for each gun, but was not required to prove he was authorized to buy them.
“At no time did the accused ask to see a PAL, did not ask if he had one and did not ask if he had any other form of identification,” Ainscough said.
During the officers’ visits to the store, they also saw other customers buy ammunition without showing a PAL, and noticed firearms and ammunition not properly secured or displayed.
On May 29, 2017 police raided the store and seized 1,089 firearms, one million rounds of ammunition, and documents relating to the transfer of firearms and ammunition. At that time officers also noticed unlocked and unlawfully displayed restricted and non-restricted firearms.
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