Prison time for Geary gunshot incident
Judge rules Crown request for lengthier sentence was too much because it didn’t factor in how serious mental-health issues reduced moral culpability of Darrell Richard Barnes, 52
A Fredericton man is headed to prison for firing a rifle in other people’s direction two years ago in Geary, but it won’t be for as long as the prosecution requested.
Judge Natalie LeBlanc found Darrell Richard Barnes, 52, of no fixed address, guilty after trial earlier this year of Oct. 3, 2023, offences of discharging a firearm while being reckless whether there were others present and possessing the rifle without a licence.
Barnes had originally been charged with discharging the rifle at Dustin Madden with the intent of wounding or endangering his life and pointing it at Madden, as well as the possession count.
However, in her decision on the trial, LeBlanc found the Crown had failed to prove that Barnes pointed the rifle directly at Madden or another man, and as such, there was no clear evidence that he intended to wound Madden. As such, she found the defendant guilty of the lesser offence of reckless discharge.