The Supreme Court of Canada will review the case of a man who received a sentence to be served under house arrest for illegal handgun possession.
Terrell Burke-Whittaker was at a Toronto restaurant in June 2020 when someone in a parked car began shooting into a lot behind the building.
Burke-Whittaker pulled a gun from a satchel and fired a shot in the general direction of the vehicle before fleeing.
Burke-Whittaker turned himself in following a police investigation and later pleaded guilty to a Criminal Code charge of illegal firearm possession.
An Ontario judge cited Burke-Whittaker's remorse and efforts to turn his life around in handing him a conditional sentence of two years less a day, to be followed by three years' probation with strict conditions.
A majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal dismissed the Crown's appeal, noting Burke-Whittaker had served a significant portion of his conditional sentence already and arguing sending him to prison at that point would undermine his rehabilitation.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
