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Sawed-off shotgun nets fine for fisher

On March 22, a 20 year old Fraser Lake man pled guilty and was sentenced in a Chetwynd court room for possessing a prohibited weapon

On March 22, a 20 year old Fraser Lake man pled guilty and was sentenced in a Chetwynd court room for possessing a prohibited weapon under the Criminal Code.

The case dated to July 2011 when a Conservation Officer checked two young men as they returned from fishing the Stellako River.

During the fisheries check a sawed-off .30-30 Winchester rifle was located behind the seat of their vehicle. The two occupants of the vehicle at first said that they had found the weapon and were planning to turn it over to police.

Further investigation by Conservation Officers revealed the 20-year-old man did, in fact, own the rifle and had modified the barrel length. Simply cutting down the length of the gun barrel had created a prohibited weapon under the definition of the Criminal Code.

In a plea agreement with Crown, Alexander Ault pled guilty and was fined $460 and his rifle was forfeited. An additional fine of $115 was issued earlier for fishing in the Stellako River without a classified-waters angling licence.

No charges were filed against the second youth.

The public is encouraged to report any illegal fish, wildlife or pollution offence 24 hours a day to the Conservation Officer Service, Report –All-Poachers, Polluters hotline at 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP).