A man who was stopped by police in West Vancouver with a loaded, cocked handgun in his car has been given six months of house arrest in addition to the six months he already spent in custody.
Judge Doug Moss handed the sentence to Shane Takeshi Gyoba, 26, after Gyoba pleaded guilty recently to two weapons charges plus one charge of resisting arrest in North Vancouver provincial court.
Gyoba was pulled over on Highway 1 at around 11 p.m. on Sept. 24 last year, after blowing past a marked police car at high speed in an uninsured Toyota Celica.
When police pulled Gyoba over, officers reported he seemed tense, had dilated pupils and told police he had special authorization to break traffic laws. He also told officers, "Don't make me do a bad thing."
Police asked Gyoba to get out of the car, eventually having to handcuff him to prevent him from getting back into the vehicle.
When they looked into the car, officers found a loaded Colt 10 mm pistol on a centre console next to the driver's seat. A spare magazine with nine rounds of ammunition was stashed in a compartment above the stereo.
A four-inch buck knife was hidden in a MacDonald's bag on the floor of the car.
Police also found an empty plastic gun case and a piece of ballistics body armor wrapped in a grey hoodie behind the rear seat.
A subsequent check showed Gyoba did have a valid licence for the gun, but was only allowed to transport it between his home and a shooting range, and only if it was unloaded and locked.
In an earlier bail hearing, Gyoba's lawyer told police he had driven to West Vancouver via the Duffy Lake Road and had the gun out because he was concerned about a wounded bear in the area. He added he used the body armor for jogging.
The judge didn't buy it, though, saying his explanation didn't make sense, and refused to grant him bail.
Gyoba remained in jail until his sentencing.
Gyoba's previous record includes a conviction for assault, hunting out of season, and driving while disqualified. Download the Layar app to your smartphone. Look for the Layar "cloud" symbol. Scan the photo or the page of the story as instructed. Ensure the photo or headline is entirely captured by your device. Check for advertisements that have layared content.
