Former RCMP officer sentenced to 3 years in prison for weapons-related charges
Former RCMP officer Jeffery Rae Gillis was sentenced to three years in prison Friday morning in Charlottetown court.
Gillis was found guilty of five weapons-related charges in March.
On February 16, 2016 Charlottetown police executed a search warrant at Gillis' home, where more than 70 firearms were found.
Among them were shotguns, a revolver and a semi-automatic pistol, along with ammunition.
After the seizure Gillis was charged with 12 counts, including unsafe storage and breach of public trust for falsely reporting the destruction of firearms to government agencies several times between 2009 and 2016. Seven of those charges were previously stayed.
He retired from the RCMP in the same month.
Public trust violated
In his decision Provincial Court Judge Jeffrey Lantz said that violation of the public's trust was one of the main factors in his decision, saying the public needs to be able to trust in their law enforcement officers, and that Gillis seriously breached that trust.
Lantz also stated that since Gillis was an officer he should have known the consequences of his actions, and that he should have known there was a risk the guns could be used in his home or stolen.
The judge took into account Gillis' record, with a former assault conviction, and the fact that he is now retired and his future is unknown. Lantz did say he also has to take into account the likelihood of rehabilitation, and he did point to the fact that Gillis has already been seeking treatment for his diagnosis of PTSD.
The defence had asked for a conditional sentence, but Lantz said jail time was the only appropriate sentence in this case because of his position as a law officer
Gillis was silent after the sentence and waved goodbye to people in the gallery who were there to support him. His lawyers at The Burke Law Group said they could not confirm if there will be an appeal, citing confidentiality.
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