A federal prison sentence is sought for a man who fired gunshots in the direction of a teen in an apparent road rage incident in Nanaimo two and a half years ago.
The incident happened at the intersection of Boxwood and Northfield roads on Feb. 5, 2023, when a man driving a Jeep and an 18-year-old boy in an older-model car exchanged words. Reza Rahiman, now 46, fired several shots from a 9mm handgun that hit the car. He was subsequently arrested and charged.
In B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo on Tuesday, July 8, the Ladysmith resident pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm with the intent to endanger someone's life, possessing a firearm without having proper licensing and possession of an illegal firearm.
Nick Barber, Crown counsel, asked for a jail sentence of seven to nine years in a federal prison, while Jordan Watt, defence counsel, sought a conditional sentence order of two years, which would see his client serve time under stringent conditions, but in the community, as well as three years' probation. Justice Robin Baird presiding over the sentencing hearing.
According to an agreed statement with facts, the incident began on the Nanaimo Parkway. The guilty man was behind another driver and the teen, who was said to be braking constantly, despite no traffic in front of him. When the man driving the Jeep passed the 18-year-old driving the car, the teen made an obscene gesture. Both proceeded along Northfield Road to the intersection with Boxwood Road. The teen attempted to pass, at which time the man exited his vehicle and began punching and kicking the teen's vehicle. The teen driver shifted into reverse, backing up and damaging the Jeep at which time the man jumped out of the way, pulled out the handgun and fired two shots into the passenger side of the car. One bullet lodged into a tire that was on the front passenger seat and another lodged in the vehicle's door. The teen driver was not injured.
The teen driver fled the scene and the man called 911 and lied, reporting that his licence plates had been stolen. The man was stopped by police about 30 minutes later south of Nanaimo, and a police search turned up a loaded handgun as well as two assault rifles, one with laser sight. The rifles had trigger locks on them and were unloaded. A box with 239 rounds of 9mm ammunition was also found.
Police searched the man's Ladysmith home and seized 300 rounds of ammunition from a hidden safe as well as body armour.
The guilty man had no firearms licences and in fact an application for one had been previously denied, according to the statement of facts.
While he had a clean record for nearly a decade, he has previous convictions, including assaulting a police officer and uttering threats, crown counsel noted. The defence said that the weapons belonged to the guilty man's father and were used for hunting and for target shooting, something the crown disagreed with.
The young man whose vehicle had been shot at was not in court this week, but in a statement read by the crown, he said he was paranoid about being out in public and is constantly looking over his shoulder and has anxiety.
Addressing the court, the guilty man apologized for his actions, stating he acted irresponsibly. He said he understood the gravity of his actions and that his reckless actions caused distress and a sense of insecurity for the victim and the community.
A date for the judge's ruling is expected to be set on Monday, July 14.
