On July 11, 2012, Martin Volz of Prince George entered a guilty plea in a Burns Lake Court room for weapons charges under the Criminal Code of Canada.
The case dated back to a fisheries compliance check by conservation officers near Helene Lake in the fall of 2011. During a vehicle stop a conservation officer located a .9mm Walther pistol and a loaded .22 caliber Ruger pistol on the back seat of a vehicle.
The group was arrested at the scene and in a statement admitted to hunting grouse with a semi-automatic pistol and exceeding their daily limit of rainbow trout.
Restricted weapons can only be transported from a residence to a licenced gun range under permit and must be double locked and unloaded for transport. It is also illegal to hunt any wildlife with a pistol.
At the conclusion of the file a total of $1,745 in fines were issued to the group.
In a unique arrangement with Crown prosecutors the court issued a 30 day probationary period and a conditional discharge with the fine.
The 11 rainbow trout and the one Ruger pistol were ordered forfeited to the Crown.
The public is encouraged to report any illegal fish, wildlife or pollution offense 24 hours a day to the report all poachers and Polluters hotline at 1-877-952-7277.