BY KEITH LACEY
While in jail on other charges, Wayne Pilotte overheard another inmate talk about a homeowner in McKerrow who possessed a large gun collection.
When he got out of jail, Pilotte and two accomplices planned a scheme to break into the home and ended up stealing 20 handguns on Jan. 13. The trio proceeded to sell nine of them to criminals in Toronto.
After a long trial that stretched over several months, Justice Patricia Hennessy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice rendered her decision late last week and found Pilotte, 26, guilty of 15 charges, including numerous break and enters and possessing and illegally selling the handguns.
After hearing several hours of submissions, Hennessy will impose sentence Wednesday.
Assistant Crown attorney Kenrick Abbott said Pilotte was the ringleader of the plan to steal and sell the guns and considering his terrible criminal record, which includes numerous convictions for break, enter and theft, he should be sentenced to a penitentiary term of 4.5 years.
These are very serious crimes as this was a planned and deliberate criminal act to steal guns and sell them to other criminals, said Abbott.
Pilotte's lawyer Daniel Forget argued because his client has spent almost a full year in pre-trial custody, the appropriate sentence would be an additional six months behind bars
Hennessy ruled there overwhelming proof and she was left with no doubt Pilotte was involved in several break and enters, including the one in McKerrow, located just north of Espanola, where the 20 handguns were stolen. The other break and enters took place within two weeks before the McKerrow incident.
Pilotte's two co-accused have yet to go on trial.
While the court must be extremely careful in weighing evidence from the co-accused, there was sufficient evidence from police, forensics and other key witnesses to corroborate damning evidence from both men that Pilotte was involved in all of these crimes, said Hennessy.
Pilotte testified on his own behalf that he had nothing to do with any break and enters or stealing and selling guns and that he was at home with his father watching television the night of the McKerrow break and enter.
His testimony was not believable under any kind of scrutiny as there was overwhelming evidence he planned and participated in numerous break and enters and not only stole the guns, but arranged for them to be sold to two young men from Greater Sudbury and buyers in Toronto, said Hennessy.
The night of the McKerrow break and enter, Pilotte used a cell phone to ensure the homeowner wasn't there and confirmed he was away at work before breaking in and smashing doors and locks with bolt cutters and crowbars, Hennessy ruled.
One of the co-accused drove Pilotte and another co-accused to the McKerrow home and kept watch outside and communicated with both men inside using walkie-talkie's, Hennessy ruled.
On top of the 20 handguns, a large amount of jewelry and other personal items were stolen. Many of the items were found by police discarded on the Coniston Hydro Road, not far from where Pilotte lives, court heard.
In her decision, Hennessy ruled many of the guns were sold by Pilotte and his co-accused and only nine of the 20 guns stolen have been recovered.
At trial, Pilotte admitted he didn't work and made his living by selling drugs. He denied making money from break and enters, but his criminal record shows he has almost a dozen previous convictions for break and enter.
Five years ago, Pilotte admitted his role in breaking into more than 10 homes in the Coniston area. However, his lawyer was successful in reducing the sentence saying Pilotte's constitutional rights had been breached as he wasn't properly cautioned by police about statements he'd made to the authorities after his arrest.
He received less than four months in jail when the Crown was seeking a penitentiary term on all the charges he faced back then.
During those break and enters, court heard Pilotte and others not only stole tens of thousands of dollars of merchandise, but they also ransacked almost every home. In numerous cases, Javex and other household cleaners were poured into furnaces, bedrooms were turned upside down and furniture throughout many homes was destroyed.
