A 30-month jail sentence has been imposed on Jordon Benjamin Robertson for a 2021 incident where a loaded 9-millimetre handgun was found on him while in the parking lot of a Sechelt liquor store by Sunshine Coast RCMP officers.
Robertson was found guilty in BC Supreme Court of unauthorized possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm on March 14 and was sentenced in Vancouver by Madam Justice Sandra Wilkinson on April 4.
According to Wilkinson’s written Reasons for Decision, Robertson was one of four individuals in a vehicle that was detained by RCMP officers at about 8:35 p.m. Oct. 23, 2021. The vehicle was stopped in relation to a report of a possible kidnapping of a woman. During the stop, officers detected “signs of impairment” in the accused, who had been driving. In the process of their on-scene investigation, an officer “observed the handle of a handgun in the pocket” of the hoodie Robertson was wearing. Once secured by the officers, the weapon was found to be loaded with a live round of ammunition.
“A custodial sentence of 30 months is, in my view, the shortest permissible sentence,” Wilkinson wrote.“Mr. Robertson was carrying a loaded firearm loose in the pocket of his hoodie while driving a car with three passengers, one of whom was having a panicked reaction to illicit drug use, while he himself was also likely under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
A 10-year prohibition on the possession of handguns was included in the sentence. Wilkinson noted that the weapon involved in the incident has been forfeited to the Crown to be disposed of.
Robertson was given eight days' credit for time served in custody before sentencing. Wilkinson waived the imposition of a victim fine surcharge.
Included in the reasons document were references to past life difficulties experienced by Robertson. In a statement to him, Wilkinson said she had “every hope that you will be able to successfully address your trauma and addiction issues while in custody."
