2 Men arrested with Replica Handguns COBOURG
 

Todays toronto sun page 7

Complete with photo of the offending weapons.

I'd like to know what schmuks thought it would be fun to run around between houses at night with their pistols. the two were 18 and 20.

http://www.torontosun.ca/News/Canada...88173-sun.html

Quote:

COBOURG -- Police issued a warning yesterday about the dangers of replica handguns after seizing two weapons so realistic they fooled veteran officers. Police arrested two men at gunpoint Sunday at around 10 p.m. after an area resident initially spotted one man running between two houses with what appeared to be a handgun. The men, aged 18 and 20, told police they bought the 9 mm and .40-calibre handguns off the Internet two months ago. The weapons were virtually identical to the ones used by police, expect the replicas fire plastic bullets. "I personally have not seen anything that looks more like our gun than what I see here," said Cobourg Sgt. Nancy Saunders, noting replica guns like these can lead to deadly situations. LUCKY TO AVOID TRAGEDY "Certainly in a situation like that in the night time, and we know it's a gun call, something tragic could have happened. We were lucky that didn't happen." The replicas weigh approximately the same as a real gun and are also made from metal and plastic like a real gun. The replica guns even have serial numbers. "We're not quite sure whether they understand that when they look so much like a real firearm it's scary for the officer attending because they don't know if they are real or not and potentially a very fatal situation could occur when these guns are out there," Saunders said. The gun-toting men were cautioned about their actions. The guns were seized for destruction.

WOW......smart......I pretty much believe if you are playing in the "hood" with your GBBs you deserve to get shot by the man

Stupidity
 

The sad part is its people who are not even part of the airsoft family that are going to eventually kill off the sport or force some major concessions on our part to continue playing...

I really wish they wouldn't refer to them like this.

Also the part about "fooling vetran officers". To be fair a veteran officer can be fooled by a man taking his wallet out of his pocket in a dark alleyway. I guess thats just how news reporting works.

hopefully they release their names, so we can see if they are members of the community.... and if so ban them.

damn sodding idiots... the most i'll do is basement killhouse, and even then that's rare for me. those idiots deserved getting their guns destroyed. let's hope that the "internet" store they bought them off of wasn't ASCA...

im sure if it was someone from the airsoft community than we will know who they are sooner or later. at worst it was someone from this communities little brother who stole the guns or maybe someone from the community sold to them. but i doubt its anyone from here.


do u have the pictures from the news paper?

Looks like more unneeded airsoft publicity.... assholes :banghead:

Just seen it on CTV. If people actually pay attention, they will forget by tomorrow when the news comes out about Britney Spears running around with out panties again. Don't panic.

thank god for britney spears, she can take the heat offa anything...

Interesting , no charges,
 

Seized the guns, but no charges,

Both of these goons committed criminal offenses in this act, Yet the police just took their toys away and told them to stop being stupid.

This is a pretty good indicator of the current enforcement climate ....

The overriding take away of this is that the police don't care if you have them.. just don't be stupid with them.. or you will force them to take them away.

http://www.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&...005&iwloc=addr

I want to know if these jokers are registered with the ASC. considering the size of that town there can't be that many players from Cobourg.

Unlucky I would say. Fools 1, Darwinizm 0

Agreed - same scenario with the A-Channel story out on the west coast.

Let's just keep a level head and see what happens.

In the mean time, those in the vacinity of these fuck tards, or those willing to go for a drive, feel free to "hoof them in the sack" on behalf of the entire (and I'm including the global aspect as well) airsoft community.

Take picture too. We'll post them as examples to other would be idiots.

We need an Airsoft lobby group, fast!

Lol brilliant Idea :)

Wait, WHAT?

Not a uncommon situation
 

The police execute warrants every day in which replicas are seized, Most of them don't hit the news.

Only the high profile cases that are good press make it to the light of day.

The day in day out small time drug busts, where replicas are found just don't garner much press.

The difference is when drugs are involved.. the full weight of the crimial code is used and they get busted for weapons offenses..

So this issue.. is not new, not uncommon, and not likely to have any effect on how the police perceive or enforce possession of replica firearms.

They have the discretion to charge or not charge as the situation dictates.

Cobourg is like 5 minutes east of my town and I haven't heard of anyone in the area that plays or is involved in airsoft. I don't know if they are ASC members but I'd love to find out who they are. Unfortunatly things like this make me want to sell everything and take up a new hobby........ya right.

Stupid shits are older than me and I wouldnt even do something that stupid!

This alone justifies the greylock

talk to me dude

1) You cant legislate against stupidity.
2) They should have been charged and booked.

If they got the guns from here, I'd be really surprised.

SnakeDoctor, you keep on asking about parts and things you cant use or even order because you are too young. You are not in a position to make comments like that, specially since you were told what the rules were more than once.

I can't see what his age has to do with this.

Im not trying to be a prick here grey, but are you not forgetting the charter right of free speech? Snake has the right to voice his opinion one way or another.

You've got a hard on for the age thing, dont you?

Now THAT is the funniest thing I've read all day.

As for these clowns, remember it's the spirit of the act that's important. I'm sure these guys didn't intend to cause a public disturbance, so there was no criminal thought in play. Remember how you react to this incident, however stupid you believe the participants to be, if you're ever stopped on the way to a game by the police. It could be you in the headlines next time, for just minding your own business and getting stopped by the wrong cop.

Yes Spacemoose, and free-speech includes my right to question folks who appear to do their best to try and find loopholes.

If he wants to learn about scopes, gun parts, etc he can simply use Google and read about them. His questions have a different slant. There is no good sensible reason to want to get all those parts and just keep them aside for 3 years unless he wants a gun too. And then where will he play?

He was told what options were open to him; all involve parental participation. There is no sign he got it at all. How many flags do you need before you start to ask questions?

wtf...im 2 pissed to even type!

Morb what's your plate number again? :) hehe JK.

If the gun call had been about the guns being used in a private backyard I would be less critical, but they were seen running between houses, and well transporting a gun in my trunk is certainly different then running around the neighbourhood doing a little one on one skirmishing.

Of course it is. The similarity is that in both cases, the cop who deals with the decision can decide to charge if he or she wants to, and we should be grateful for that discretion.

What wasn't stated was if the people in question were neighbors of the complainant, lived on the same street, etc. Granted at 19-20, I'd be concerned and would likely call the police myself, but I have young kids running through my yard with toy guns all the time.

Sent to editor@torsun.com:

sweet letter to the editor. I'll be watching to see if they publish it :)

Unlikely. I've already had my two this month :)

why would they take their guns away and destroy them? thats silly if you ask me. I'd take the PD to court for destroying my property. i wonder if they had replica ninja swords if the same would happen?

Good luck with that.

"Hey, you guys took my replica guns but didn't charge me, so I want them back or else"

"Ok, you got us. Rather that face a court battle for confiscating property, we've decided to charge you with Mischief, Causing a Disturbance, and Possession of Prohibited Device. On top of that, we'll throw in Tresspass by Night. Is that better?"

And if you were caught running around with a fucking Ninja sword, you can bet you'd be charged, notwithstanding the confiscation of your dangerous weapon.

can't fix stupid

my friend's window got shot out by punks with bb guns or the pellet guns u get at lebaron (the co2 powered ones).... i told them to call the cops, and file a report. middle of the ntie, n they were driving around.... n they were just shooting at random houses.

you cant be charged with any of that after the fact. they got your property, you take them to court for it. i know i would. an airsoft gun, a baseball bat, to a damn replica ninja sword.

That would go down well in front of the Judge; "Your Honour, I want the gun/sword/weapon I used carelessly in a crime/infraction back because I'm now a good boy?"

Some folks would benefit from going to sit as an observer in a criminal court to get a reality check.

Actually you can be charged with all that "after the fact." You should ask for a refund on your legal courses.

The cost of bringing an application to get your property returned would grossly outstrip the value of the item. You're also likely not to get it.

If you try to get the return of your items you may actually force the police to charge you with something to make the process easier for them.

One of the great lessons in life is learning to pick your battles carefully.

LD

Perhaps none of you guys have been involved in something like this where your property gets confiscated unlawfully. As long as you are not doing anything illegal with it they can not take it away from you. I’ve had things confiscated from me on number of occasions and I’ve got them back successfully every time with or without court's assistance.

As far as that news article explains those guys didn’t commit any crimes or illegal acts using the replicas. Running around and between houses with a plastic gun is not a crime. Trespassing is a chargeable offence, but not having a plastic gun in your hand. They were dumb for doing that but maybe they were just running up and down the street shooting each other. Bad judgment - yes! Illegal - not in any way. Did they shoot anyone or point it at anyone? Doesn’t appear to be that way.

So I guess next time im having a sword fight with my son on my drive way using our plastic replica ninja swords I hope no one calls the police and my swords get taken away.

Not sure why everyone is so scared of the law on this site? The law is there to protect you, your rights and your property. Not to put you away for something you did not commit or b/c you might appear to be a 'bad person'.

Which crime exactly did they commit using those guns? They tresspassed at most, which has nothing to do with them having those guns, so they did not use any weapon carelessly, as you said, in their crime of tresspassng.

Please, forget whatever a cop tells you regarding air soft weapons. Cop is not the law nor is he the judge. Cop is there to charge you with anything he or she possibly can, but as long as you do not point your air soft at that cop or anyone else the charge will not stick and you have the right to get your property back.

Does talking on your cell phone about drugs make you a drug dealer? You'd be surprized but to a cop it does.

88. (1) Every person commits an offence who carries or possesses a weapon, an imitation of a weapon, a prohibited device or any ammunition or prohibited ammunition for a purpose dangerous to the public peace or for the purpose of committing an offence.

Although I agree these guys were absolute tools, I think that you're stretching it. It's arguable that these guys were danger to public peace. Unless they were actually pointing it at each other or the public, they are no danger. They were not committing an offence either. Trespassing would be a stretch, and unless they were told to leave that property, it probably wouldn't stand.

This is probably why they weren't charged. Don't get me wrong, they deserve to get thrown in the clink for stupidity, and are lucky they aren't dead. But let's not go too far and say that they are criminals.

I think the police could have charged them with what you stated, but remember, it would not be worth a prosecuters time to try to prove it. It's really not clear cut enough to warrant the time.

thank you!

Then why did the police show up?
 

The choice not to charge rested with the police ... they could have charged them with any number of offenses....

but chose not to.. thinking that a warning.. and a loss of their property would likely be a better deterent than anything.

Hardly.

Carrying a replica weapon in public is quite a danger to the public peace. Replica firearms and real firearms are (nearly) indistinguishable with real firearms from a distance. A neighbor obviously felt threatened enough to give the local authorities a call.

-VM