A septuagenarian from Laval who offered his hunting equipment on Kijiji fell into the trap of a insistent undercover agent and finally received six months in house arrest for selling a weapon to someone who did not have a license .
“The offenses would not have been committed, had it not been for the police insistence on getting the offender to commit them,” we read in the recently handed down judgment.
However, Jean Bilodeau, for whom hunting is therapy, pleaded guilty to the three charges against him. Result: he will no longer be able to be in possession of hunting weapons, in particular, for the next 10 years.
“That’s the big tragedy,” explains the gentleman’s lawyer, M.e Marie-Josée Gélinas. His client has no criminal record and has worked for large Quebec companies.
A false lead
The story began on 1is April 2021 with a false lead given to the police. A source claimed that Mr. Bilodeau sold “all kinds of firearms, legal and illegal,” and that he would thus supply “street gangs.”
This allegation turned out to be false. Rather, it is “legal possession items related to hunting, such as cameras, decoys or clothing” that Mr. Bilodeau sold on Kijiji.
The person who defines himself as a compulsive buyer argues that he was trying to get rid of these items because of the rising cost of living and the clutter caused by the equipment.
Photo provided by JEAN BILODEAU
The Montreal police still looked into the Laval resident’s case and we went so far as to follow him.
A pushy undercover agent
An undercover agent presented himself under a false identity, claiming to want to discuss a hunting camera. One thing led to another and Mr. Bilodeau mentioned having hunting weapons for sale.
“Bilodeau asks [l’agent double] if he has the permit required to acquire such a weapon since he will not be able to sell him one if this is not the case,” we read in the court decision.
Such a transaction would have been completely legal.
Except that the undercover agent indicated that he did not have such a permit and was insistent. Yielding to the pressure exerted by the latter, Mr. Bilodeau sold him a legal hunting weapon, not registered with the Online Firearms Registration Service (SIAF), which he had purchased in Ontario.
Where the problem lies is that the 12 gauge rifle was sold to a person who did not have a gun permit for the sum of $575, explains André Gélinas, retired detective sergeant from the SPVM.
He adds that a large part of the weapons in Quebec are not registered with the SIAF because its effectiveness is controversial.
As he was preparing to carry out a second transaction with the double agent, Mr. Bilodeau regained his senses and turned back, asking the agent not to contact him again.
The damage was done: Jean Bilodeau was arrested and charged. All his weapons were seized, but could be given to a loved one, explains Me Duhaime.
But he will no longer be able to practice his passion, hunting.
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