A Vernon man has been found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm, despite his claim that it was a case of innocent possession as he intended to turn it in to the police.
In a BC Supreme Court decision published May 9, Justice Steven Wilson found Maxwell Buchanen, 29, guilty of possession of an unloaded, prohibited or restricted firearm along with readily accessible ammunition, and possession of a firearm without being the registered owner.
The charges are tied to an incident in Vernon's Polson Park on Jan. 9, 2023, when a woman called 911 to report she was walking through the park when she saw a man she identified as Buchanan holding what she believed was a shotgun.
Police went to the park and arrested Buchanan before finding a prohibited bolt action firearm and a box of ammunition in his backpack. Three rounds were also found in his pocket, which were later determined to be compatible with the gun. Some .22 calibre rounds and an empty 12-guage shotgun shell were also found in his jacket.
A trial ensued in which four RCMP witnesses testified for the Crown. Buchanan was the only witness for his defence.
Buchanan, who had been for eight months leading up to the incident, advanced the defence of innocent possession. According to court documents, this defence can arise in cases where someone possesses contraband solely for the purpose of disposing it, or for a reason pertaining to public duty. The Crown took no issue with the law surrounding the defence of innocent possession but said it did not apply to Buchanan's case.
Buchanan said at trial that the gun belonged to his friend, who died of an overdose in December 2024, adding he acquired the gun while visiting a local drug house, where his friend had shown it to him and asked Buchanan — a handyman — if he could fix it.
Buchanan argued his friend had deteriorated over time and he was concerned about him having a gun in his possession given his erratic behaviour. The friend owed him some money for a combination of drug purchases and repairs, and Buchanan convinced his friend to give him the gun and all of the ammunition that went with it in exchange for $2,500 worth of debt forgiveness.
Buchanan claimed he quickly realized he did not want the gun and planned to drop it off at the RCMP detachment. But instead of going there, he received a call from a friend and went to Polson Park to help her with a dispute.
Buchanan said he had a run-in with two masked individuals in Polson Park; one of them grabbed his backpack, so Buchanan removed the unloaded gun and pointed it at the pair, telling them to "put down what's mine and step back." One of the individuals removed their mask, revealing herself to be the friend he was supposed to be meeting there.
Buchanan told the court he'd been ambushed and had to rethink his plan to dispose of the gun.
A police officer later approached Buchanan saying they were investigating someone pointing a firearm. He was then arrested.
Justice Wilson found inconsistencies in Buchanan's story when comparing what he told police and what he told the court during cross-examination. At trial, Buchanan said he obtained the gun and ammunition, including the shotgun shell, from his friend while at the drug house. During cross-examination, he said that he did not carry around spent ammunition, but the Justice noted his statement to police gave "an entirely different version of events," as he'd said he'd purchased the rounds at a store without a licence, and disassembled them in order to launch them like a firework.
"Mr. Buchanan agreed that at no time during his 45-minute interview with (police) did he ever mention that he: (a) had only obtained the gun a few hours earlier; (b) got the gun from (his friend) because he was concerned; and (c) was intending to hand it over to the police as soon as he could," Wilson wrote.
"Had it been Mr. Buchanan's intention to hand over the gun, one would expect that he would have taken the opportunity to say so, either at the arrest scene or during his interview with (police).
Wilson said at no point during his initial detention did Buchanan volunteer to hand over the firearm or suggest that he had a gun he was wanting to turn over to the police. He therefore considered Buchanan's explanation that he was planning to turn in the gun to be "implausible."
Wilson found Buchanan guilty of the two weapons charges, but cleared him of a charge of possessing break-in tools — an acquittal the Crown had suggested.
