Suspect in firearms case denies charges
Marc LeBlanc, 40, wants to proceed to trial on alleged weapons, stolen ID offences
A defendant being held in custody on 17 charges alleging firearms offences and other crimes denied the various counts Friday.
Marc LeBlanc, 40, of no fixed address, appeared in the prisoner’s dock in Courtroom No. 5 in Fredericton’s Justice Building on Friday to answer to numerous charges.
Defence lawyer Edward Derrah told Fredericton provincial court Judge Natalie LeBlanc his client was electing to be tried in provincial court and pleading not guilty to all counts.
The defendant is accused of the following charges, alleged to have occurred in Oromocto on Sept. 30:
carrying a concealed weapon - namely, a sawed-off rifle;
two counts of possessing sawed-off rifles for a purpose dangerous to the public peace;
possessing a loaded, prohibited firearm (a sawed-off rifle) without a licence or certificate;
possessing firearms and ammunition while prohibited from doing so by a court order;
occupying a motor vehicle knowing there was a prohibited firearm therein;
possessing an unloaded prohibited firearm (a sawed-off rifle) with readily accessible ammunition;
possessing the rifles knowing he didn’t have a licence for them;
storing firearms improperly;
obstructing RCMP Const. Shawn Elhatton in the execution of his duty;
causing more than $5,000 in property damage to a U-Haul moving cube truck;
and four counts of possessing stolen identity documents: driver’s licences belonging to Braden Robert Kent, Joseph Frank Levi Lirette and Alex Girouard, as well as the birth certificate of Joseph Paul Daniel Fougere.
Crown prosecutor Brett Stanford said more than a day would be needed for trial, so the judge scheduled a case-management conference for Dec. 22 to see if the issues to be examined at trial can be narrowed.
It’s expected a trial date will be set at that time.
During a previous court appearance in October, Marc LeBlanc had sought a court order for a 30-day psychiatric assessment to determine if he might be exempt from criminal responsibility due to a mental disorder at the time of his alleged offences.
However, a judge declined to issue that order, noting that no information was filed with the court to show there were reasonable grounds for it.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.