The following is an article about a bail hearing, which means the alleged facts discussed have not been proven in court.
A man allegedly caught in a U-Haul in Burnaby with a restricted handgun, electrical saw and stolen catalytic converter has been released on bail.
New Westminster resident Shawn Richard Dalziel, 60, was in Vancouver provincial court Wednesday.
On Jan. 30, 2022, he was in the passenger seat of a U-Haul when it was pulled over by Burnaby RCMP, according to allegations presented by Crown prosecutor Navi Gill.
Police were conducting a drivers licence check on Dalziel’s co-accused, Timothy Mowery, who was in the driver’s seat of the U-Haul, when officers spotted a “couple items in the vehicle of concern to them,” Gill said.
A search of the van then revealed a restricted handgun (a functioning .22 caliber Colt Woodsman) under the passenger seat and one live round of ammunition.
“The officer indicates that, when the firearm was located, there was no magazine, but a long bullet fell out of the chamber,” according to Gill, but she said there was still some ambiguity over whether the weapon had been loaded.
The search of the vehicle also turned up a reciprocating saw, a circular saw, a catalytic converter, three crack pipes and small baggie of suspected drugs, Gill said.
Police arrested the two men and released them pending further investigation, but charges (including careless use or storage of a firearm, possession of a firearm without a licence or registration, possession of a weapon obtained through an offence, occupying a vehicle knowing a firearm was present, possession of stolen property and possession of a controlled substance) weren’t laid until last month.
Dalziel has been in custody since Feb. 7.
His lawyer, Tim Ochitwa, said his client told him he was so inebriated he doesn’t remember the incident.
“He was just getting a ride in this van, that he remembers,” Ochitwa said.
When asked about fingerprint and DNA evidence, Gill said that information hadn’t come back yet.
“That seems rather weird that it would take over a year,” Ochitwa said.
Judge Donna Senniw agreed.
Gill said the Crown was recommending Dalziel’s release, noting he had a criminal record but it was "somewhat dated."
Senniw agreed and released him on a $1,000 promise to pay with a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.
During his release, Dalziel is banned from possessing any weapons, break-in instruments, catalytic converters and saws.
He is also banned from contacting his co-accused.
Mowery’s bail hearing is set for tomorrow (Thursday) in Vancouver provincial court.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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