Brandon Harder
Regina Leader-Post
A Regina judge has delivered an eight-year sentence to a man found guilty of multiple offences related to a Regina gun trafficking operation.
Following a trial that began in February, Aldrin John Manalaysay Pascua was found guilty of conspiracy to traffic firearms, trafficking firearms, possession of firearms for the purpose of trafficking, and possession of a firearm with readily accessible ammunition.
The court found that “between November 2018 and October 2021, Mr. Pascua participated in a scheme to acquire, possess, and transfer both restricted and non-restricted firearms through straw purchases,” according to submissions previously made by Pascua’s lawyer.
A straw purchaser is someone who buys a firearm on behalf of someone else — Pascua in this case. One such purchaser bought him 10 guns, four of which have not been recovered, provincial court Judge James Korpan said Dec. 10 as the sentence was being handed down.
The judge noted a number of the firearms Pascua trafficked ended up at crime scenes in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The eight-year sentence delivered by Korpan was directly in line with a recommendation from the Crown, represented by prosecutor Pamela Larmondin.
When both parties made submissions at an October hearing, defence lawyer Aleida Oberholzer submitted that an overall sentence of three to four years would be appropriate.
Oberholzer also argued that Pascua’s right to be tried within a reasonable timeframe had been breached — a notion rejected by Korpan, who issued a decision to that end prior to imposing the sentence.
Korpan found not only that the Crown had not exceeded the length of time allotted legally, but also that the case was sufficiently complex that it constituted “exceptional circumstances.”
Therefore, even if the Crown had exceeded the time allotted by law, the additional delay would’ve been justified, the judge concluded.
Korpan sought to drive home the seriousness of the offences committed by Pascua, now 35.
“The accused sold illicit firearms to criminals, who used them as tools of their diabolical trade,” said the judge, adding that Pascua was motivated by profit, was the “sole beneficiary” of his gun trafficking, and does not have any mental health or addictions issues that drove his behaviour.
“He made the decision to traffic in firearms with a clear mind.”
Pascua “had other ways to make money,” but chose crime and appeared to “relish” his choice, the judge commented.
Korpan relayed a lengthy list of factors he considered aggravating, including that Pascua was “apathetic to the potential consequences of his conduct when it was obvious that the purchasers were motivated to buy firearms unlawfully and for nefarious purposes.”
The judge pointed to past statistics about high rates of firearm-related crime in Regina. He called the city the “national epicentre of metropolitan firearm violence” on a per-capita basis at the time of the offences.
“If the court does not send a strong message in this community, then where?” Korpan asked.
Originally from the Philippines, Pascua is a permanent resident in Canada who has a previous criminal record. The judge acknowledged Pascua would likely face deportation.
While Korpan accepted that Pascua experienced childhood poverty, he noted the convicted man had education opportunities and maintained lawful employment for a time prior to his arrest.
Many immigrants come to Canada for “financial reasons,” which is different than poverty brought about by colonialism, Korpan said.
“This was not a situation where economic pressures led to no options other than to pursue commercial criminal enterprise,” the judge said, noting this lessened the mitigating effect of the poverty.
After receiving credit for time spent on remand, there’s just under four years remaining on Pascua’s sentence.
According to Oberholzer, Pascua is exploring the possibility of an appeal, with the issue of his right to be tried within a reasonable time being part of his considerations.
bharder@postmedia.com
