(file photo)

By Susan McNeil

Sentenced reduced

Appeal court reduces five-year sentence for man with handgun conviction

Dec 24, 2024 | 2:18 PM

A man who was convicted in Prince Albert Court of Kings Bench after being found in a hotel with a handgun had his time in prison reduced from five years to 30 months.

Colin Umpherville, now 35, was first arrested in Prince Albert in 2019 after being found by two officers with a small quantity of meth, a .22 calibre handgun, 50 rounds of ammunition and an operational scale.

Officers had been called to the room to evict the renter of the suite but found Umpherville there instead.

After noting his nervous mannerisms and seeing him push a backpack under the bed with his feel, they asked him for some identification.

He first falsely identified himself wrongly but later provided his real name at which point the officers learned he had an outstanding arrest warrant.

Sentenced reduced

Appeal court reduces five-year sentence for man with handgun conviction

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They searched the backpack and found the gun, ammo and scale and the drugs in his pocket with some cash.

The trial judge found that Umpherville had control of the backpack but not that he was the owner of it as it could have belonged to the tenant who was being evicted.

In his earliest memories, Umpherville and his siblings were apprehended and taken into foster care where they later became permanent wards of the state.

His time in care and with his extended Indigenous family was positive.

His highest level of education was Grade 6 and he has been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and ADHD. He began using marijuana and drinking at ages 12 and 14 and then was introduced to crystal meth which led to him becoming a seller.

While he hopes to turn his life around, according to the pre-sentence report cited by the appeal judge, that relies on going back to school and his plan is to keep selling drugs until while he waits to be accepted at school.

He also was assessed at being in the 98th percentile to reoffend.

The original sentencing judge based their decision on Umpherville’s crime and previous criminal record and failed to apply Gladue factors properly.

“First, the judge did not assess the extent to which Mr. Umpherville’s Gladue factors influenced his moral culpability. Second, the judge incorrectly drew, from the need to emphasize the sentencing principles of deterrence and denunciation, the conclusion that Mr. Umpherville’s Gladue factors could not affect the appropriate term of imprisonment in this case,” said the appeal court in its decision.

The 30 months that were imposed by the appeal judges was still the longest sentence Umpherville has had to date. He had credit for 119 days in pre-sentence custody.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social