A man caught carrying a gun-shaped lighter near a high school was sentenced to an absolute discharge May 5 in Prince George Provincial Court.
John Casey Alexander Williams, born in 1976, had been charged for possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer on Sept. 27, 2024. On May 2, Williams pleaded guilty to the latter charge.
Crown and defence lawyers agreed that a discharge was appropriate for Williams, but could not decide whether it should be a conditional or absolute discharge.
Doulis opted for an absolute discharge, which means Williams will continue to have no criminal record.
She said Williams used the Prince George Secondary School grounds “as a shortcut from somewhere to somewhere else” and was the only person needing medical treatment from the incident, due to a non-lethal device and tackling by one or more RCMP officers.
“In the case before me, there is little, if any, evidence of John Williams brandishing the lighter as though it were a firearm,” Doulis said. “John Williams does not have a memory of even having a lighter.”
Doulis noted that Williams suffered his Indigenous heritage and upbringing, fetal alcohol syndrome, a congenital heart defect and addiction to methamphetamine and heroin/fentanyl.
“I do not perceive him as a danger to the public,” Doulis said. “Yes, it may benefit John Williams to seek treatment for addiction, but I am not persuaded that placing him on a probation for 12 months is going to effect that transformation.”
She said there was no evidence that Williams used the lighter to rob, threaten or intimidate anyone. It was simply the shape of the lighter that caused alarm.
“If there is a risk that members of the public might mistakenly perceive a lighter to be a firearm, than perhaps parliament or the legislature should prohibit the manufacture of lighters or other non-lethal devices to resemble firearms,” Doulis said.
