A South Okanagan man will be spending 424 more days in jail after he was caught with a prohibited firearm less than a year from his last release from jail.
On Jan. 23, Parker James Ardiel, 33, pleaded guilty to having a prohibited firearm and to having a firearm while subject to a firearm ban and was sentenced to 36 months in jail, less time served.
The North Okanagan RCMP spotted a vehicle on Nov. 2, 2021, which matched the description of one reported stolen from Falkland. They tracked it down through Vernon until it eventually stopped at the Twin Lakes gas station.
RCMP blocked the vehicle in, and after looking around, Ardiel complied and surrendered. At the scene, Ardiel informed the officers of two firearms in the vehicle before being arrested.
A double-barrelled shotgun was found behind the seat in a black bag with an illegal length barrel, and the second firearm was a rifle also in a black bag.
At the time, Ardiel was subject to a 10-year firearm prohibition from his 2019 multi-provincial crime spree.
READ MORE: Man pleads guilty in Penticton court to multi-province crime spree
That crime spree resulted in a sentence of four months of jail time in December 2020 after taking time served into account.
Since being arrested in 2021, Ardiel has been in custody.
Among the factors the Supreme Court Justice considered in her decision were Ardiel’s prospects for employment, his connections with his family, efforts made in programs while in custody and the positive prospects for rehabilitation in the pre-sentencing report.
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