In BC Supreme Court, in a case heard in the Powell River courthouse, Jason William Sawatsky was sentenced to five years in jail on four counts related to a break-in and theft of firearms from a residence on Kristensen Road.
On April 14, justice Jasvinder Basran sentenced Sawatsky to the jail term, related to the break-in on September 11, 2019, plus damaging a wall at the Powell River RCMP detachment the following day. Sawatsky was convicted on all four counts on August 20, 2021, and awaited sentencing.
Justice Basran, in the written sentencing disclosure, said on count one, Sawatsky broke and entered the residence and stole six firearms, including a .357 magnum handgun, a 3030 rifle, .303 rifle, a shotgun and two .22 calibre rifles. On the second count, justice Basran found that Sawatsky possessed instruments suitable for breaking into a place and on the third, wilfully damaging the wall at the police station. On the fourth count, the justice found that Sawatsky unlawfully possessed cocaine, a controlled substance.
Justice Basran stated that Sawatsky had 25 convictions dating back to 1995, including eight for break and enter. His last conviction was October 2017 and he was sentenced to three years, according to the justice.
Basran stated that the crown and defence made a joint submission on sentencing and agreed that Sawatsky should be sentenced to five years on count one.
“This is the most serious charge and I note that Mr. Sawatsky was convicted under section 98 of the Criminal Code – break and enter to steal a firearm, a more serious charge than break and enter under section 348 of the Criminal Code,” stated Basran. “The jointly proposed five-year custodial sentence does not, in my view, arouse public considerations, nor does it bring the administration of justice into disrepute. Taking into account the purposes of sentencing of the Criminal Code and the joint submission, I find that the purposes of sentencing are fulfilled by the suggested sentence.”
In addition to the sentence on the first count, Basran sentenced Sawatsky to one month concurrently on count two, 15 days concurrently on count three, and four months concurrently on count four. The justice also stated that Sawatsky was required to provide a DNA sample because the first count is primarily designated a DNA offence.
Sawatsky was also handed a lifetime firearms prohibition.
