A man who hid a bulletproof vest and a loaded, 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun in a Richmond yard after an accident has been sentenced to 30 months in jail.
Richmond Provincial Court Judge R.P. Harris said in his newly released April 10 decision that Derek David Allenby had pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited firearm.
“I find Mr. Allenby possessed the shotgun for true criminal purposes,” Harris said.
It was Feb. 28, 2021, that police responded to a report of a vehicle leaving the roadway and winding up in a water-filled ditch.
Harris said police located Allenby standing on the roadway near the vehicle.
“He identified himself to the police as the driver and he proceeded to provide a false name and date of birth,” Harris said.
However, police soon identified Allenby and discovered he was a prohibited driver.
They arrested him for driving while prohibited; when they searched him, they found a 12-gauge buckshot shell in his jacket pocket. He was then arrested for possessing ammunition contrary to his prohibition order and for obstructing a police officer.
It was shortly after the arrest that a local resident contacted the police to report Allenby had concealed items in her yard after the collision but before police arrival.
The police investigated the resident’s report that just after the vehicle entered the ditch, Allenby knocked on the resident’s door asking that a tow truck be called.
The resident agreed and then noticed Allenby entering her yard, walking around her house and then leaving.
“Sometime later, the resident took her dog into her yard and she discovered a brown blanket that had not previously been there,” Harris said.
“The resident’s CCTV footage was examined and it showed Mr. Allenby entering the yard carrying a brown blanket, then going out of camera view and coming back into view without the blanket,” Harris said. “Police recovered the blanket and concealed inside was a bulletproof vest and a loaded, 12-gauge, sawed-off shotgun.”
The Crown sought a jail sentence of 30 to 36 months while defence suggested a lengthy conditional sentence order.
In passing sentence, Harris concluded, “the shotgun was originally in his car, it was loaded, he had extra rounds of ammunition, and he had a bulletproof vest. As such, and given the danger to the community, the sentence imposed must denounce and deter Mr. Allenby and others.”
