A Toronto man pleaded guilty Wednesday to possession of a loaded prohibited firearm when he appeared in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom.
Amadou Doukoure was nabbed more than two years ago when officers from local police agencies, armed with a search warrant, showed up at a residence in the city's east end.
The 27-year-old, according to police reports at the time, was one of four people charged with offences on Jan. 8, 2021.
Doukoure also pleaded guilty to breach of a probation order that banned him from having a weapon.
Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau heard officers, with a previously authorized warrant, knocked on the door of a Chicora Crescent home at 8:08 a.m.
"Multiple individuals were located inside the residence," said assistant Crown attorney Chris Thompson.
Doukoure rented a bedroom in the home. He was spotted jumping out of the bedroom window.
A .38 calibre Llama super handgun, as well as four functioning cell phones, were found there.
Nine rounds of ammunition were in the gun, which testing revealed was capable of being discharged, Thompson said.
The accused had no authorization to possess the weapon.
The Crown and defence lawyer Kayvan Vakili jointly recommended his client be sentenced to time served.
Doukoure has been in custody for 936 days, with the enhanced credit of 1.5 days for each day spent in jail, the sentence is the equivalent of 1,404 days.
Vakili said there are reasons he is pleading guilty despite there being significant triable issues.
His client has a job lined up in Etobicoke, completed a number of courses while in pre-sentence custody and wants to get on with his life.
When he imposed the sentence, the judge noted Doukoure served time for the same offence in 2019.
"This is a substantial increase from the previous sentence," is appropriate given the situation, and is consistent with the principles of sentencing, Gareau said.
The pleas indicate remorse and save court time, which also is a factor.
He imposed a life-time weapons prohibition and ordered forfeiture of all seized weapons and ammunition.
Doukoure must provide a DNA sample for the national registry.
At the request of the Crown, Gareau withdrew three other charges.