A picture taken at the time of the standoff in March, 2023. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Court proceedings

Man arrested after long standoff, found guilty of gun charges

Dec 21, 2024 | 10:00 AM

A man arrested after a lengthy standoff in Prince Albert has been found guilty of number of gun-related offences and is now awaiting sentencing.

Colten Lafond appeared Friday morning at Court of King’s Bench in Prince Albert.

The initial incident occurred in March 2023, and when police searched the home, there were two guns found. A .22 Mossberg assault rifle was located in the ceiling tiles of a downstairs bedroom and a 12 gauge sawed-off shotgun was located in the heating ducts.

Inside the console of the black truck Lafond had last been seen driving was ammunition for the Mossberg rifle.

The rifle also happened to be the same used during a violent incident one week prior involving attempted murder. This was the whole reason why police had been seeking Lafond in the first place.

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A picture taken of Lafond during October’s trial. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

During his statement to police, Lafond had only referenced the rifle and this was in part what led Madame Justice Hildebrandt to conclude he could only be connected to that gun.

Also noted was the fact there were multiple people either living at or squatting in the house, and anyone of them could have had access to the guns. But with respect to the ammo found in the console, Hildebrandt noted Lafond’s own description of himself as being very observant, and stated for him not to know it was there would be unreasonable.

A sentencing hearing for the gun charges has been set for January 13, which is two weeks before Lafond’s other charges return to provincial court.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell