STORAGE, POSSESSION AND SECTION 95
Firearms Lawyer in Penticton
Julian Van Der Walle is the firearms lawyer Penticton hunters, ranchers and licensed owners call after a storage or transport charge, and the one people facing serious possession charges call too. He defends the whole range of firearms cases.
Firearm seized or charged?
Don’t explain to police whether you knew a gun was there.
Your PAL may be suspended while the case is open.
Section 95 no longer carries a mandatory minimum after R v Nur.
Called in 2010
Criminal defence has been Julian Van Der Walle’s whole practice since.
Possession law
The centre of most firearms cases, and where Julian focuses.
Search and seizure
Julian has lectured other defence lawyers on it.
Talk it through
Two very different kinds of firearms case
At one end are regulatory style charges against licensed owners around Penticton. A rifle left loaded in a truck, a handgun stored without a trigger lock, a firearm carried in a way the rules don’t allow. These people usually have no record and a lot to lose, especially their licence.
At the other end are possession charges involving prohibited or restricted firearms, often found alongside drugs or cash, with real jail risk. Julian Van Der Walle approaches each differently as a Penticton firearms lawyer, but both start with the same questions about possession and the search.
Licensed owners
Julian works to keep your PAL and keep the file out of criminal court altogether.
Serious possession charges
Julian challenges the search and the proof of possession, which decide most of these cases.
Firearms charges Julian defends in Penticton
Most are under the Criminal Code, some under the Firearms Act or BC’s Wildlife Act.
Careless storage
Section 86(1) careless storage or handling, and 86(2) breaking the storage and transport regulations. Julian tests whether the rules really apply.
Unauthorized possession
Section 91(1) for a firearm without the right licence, 91(3) for prohibited weapons and devices, and section 92 when knowledge is alleged.
Loaded prohibited firearm
Section 95, the most serious possession charge. Julian examines every step of the search.
Drugs found with a gun
A common pairing that raises the stakes on both charges.
How firearms cases get defended
The Crown has to prove you possessed the firearm, which means you knew about it and had control over it. When a gun turns up in a shared vehicle, a house with several residents or a borrowed truck near Penticton, that proof is often thin, and Julian Van Der Walle pushes on it.
The search matters just as much. If police went past what a warrant or the law allowed, Julian applies to exclude the firearm itself from evidence. Some results are in Julian’s past wins.
Knowledge
Did you know the firearm was there?
Control
Was it yours to control, or someone else’s?
The search
Was it lawful from start to finish?
The rules
Do the storage or transport regulations really apply as charged?
When is a firearm in a vehicle considered loaded?
It’s one of the most searched firearms questions, and it catches a lot of South Okanagan hunters. Under BC’s Wildlife Act a firearm in or on a vehicle generally counts as loaded if there is a live round in the chamber, or in a magazine attached to the gun. Ammunition elsewhere in the truck is a different question.
The Similkameen, the hills around Penticton and the back roads off Highway 3 fill with hunters every fall, and checks by conservation officers and the RCMP are a common source of charges heard at the Penticton courthouse. For a licensed owner with a clean record, these cases are often very defensible. Julian defends them as a Penticton criminal defence lawyer. Read more about Julian.
Hunting season
Most backcountry firearms charges come from how a gun was carried in a vehicle, not from the hunt itself.
How Julian handles a firearms charge
01
Free consultation
Julian reviews what was found, where, and what you told police.
02
Licence and seizure
Julian examines your PAL status and any seized firearms.
03
Disclosure
Julian requests search notes, warrant materials and registry evidence.
04
Resolution or trial
Diversion, a withdrawal, a lesser plea or a trial in Penticton.
Firearms charge questions
Julian Van Der Walle answers what Penticton owners and hunters ask after a charge.
Will I lose my firearms licence if I'm charged?
Your licence can be suspended or revoked, and police may hold your firearms while the case is open. A conviction usually brings a weapons prohibition, so Julian focuses on keeping the charge out of criminal court where possible.
I was hunting legally. How did I end up charged?
Most hunting season charges come from how a firearm was stored or carried in a vehicle, not from the hunt itself. A loaded rifle in a truck on a back road is the classic example, and Julian sees it every fall.
Is a firearms charge always a jail case?
No. Careless storage by a licensed owner usually ends in a fine or less. Section 95 charges carry real jail risk, and even then the facts and the search drive the result, which is what a firearms lawyer Penticton courts know will test.
Will I get my firearms back?
Sometimes. It depends on the outcome and on whether a prohibition order is made. Julian raises the return of firearms as part of resolving the file.
Need a firearms lawyer in Penticton?
Call Julian Van Der Walle before you talk to police or the Chief Firearms Officer about it. The consultation is free and confidential.
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Call 1.866.706.8857
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