RCMP officer’s stolen handgun stored in unlocked vehicle court told

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This article was published 20/11/2017 (2889 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When an RCMP officer’s handgun was stolen overnight from his police vehicle, the truck “was unlocked,” court heard from a man who admitted to stealing the service weapon.

Matthew Andrew Miles, 27, testified Monday as a Crown witness during the attempted-murder trial for his “homie,” Matthew Wilfred McKay, who is accused of using the Mountie’s gun to shoot a 16-year-old girl who was sitting in a parked car outside a Winnipeg convenience store in the early hours of Oct. 24, 2015.

The shooting left Calli Vanderaa with serious injuries and led to her and her father suing the Attorney General of Canada over what they alleged was an improperly stored police weapon.

Miles told Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sheldon Lanchbery the police truck was parked outside a residential garage and left unlocked. The handgun, which he admitted to handling, was on a police belt, not in a locked box, he said.

Miles said he took items from the truck, including a computer and camera, after he got drunk at a party in the garage. He testified he remembered a teen telling the party guests his dad was a cop — “Why the f— did you bring us here, then?” Miles wondered, recalling his reaction. He was on parole at the time after being convicted on robbery charges.

The teen previously testified his parents were unaware he was having a high school party that night.

When Crown attorney Libby Standil asked Miles what he did after stealing from the RCMP truck and where he went, Miles said: “I can’t really remember all that today.”

Miles, who said he was “drinking mad bottles” at the party and got blackout drunk, claimed not to remember whether anyone handed him the stolen gear from the truck, whether he was with McKay that night, whether he heard a gunshot, or whether McKay shot anyone.

He testified he’d known McKay for at least 13 years, but claimed not to remember the accused’s nickname. Even after he read a copy of the statement he gave to police in which the nickname is mentioned, Miles told Standil he didn’t remember.

Asked whether he remembered seeing a parked car full of people, Miles said: “I was extremely drunk, and no.”

He told court he’d planned to use the stolen gun to “jack some drug dealers” and make off with the money. “Would’ve been nice,” he said, “but it didn’t happen.”

Instead, police found the gun, along with bear spray and gun magazines, at the house where Miles was living prior to his arrest. Miles had wrapped the gun in a shirt and placed it in a ceiling vent in the basement. He testified he didn’t tell police where it was when they surrounded the house on Oct. 25, 2015.

“I just said, whatever’s in the house that’s illegal is mine,” he said.

In September, Miles pleaded guilty for his role in stealing the officer’s gun and is currently serving the equivalent of a 3 1/2-year sentence. He admitted to theft under $5,000, possession of a restricted weapon and violating a court order that prohibited him from having weapons.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay