A Surrey man with more than 50 convictions has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for firearms, stolen property and drug crimes.
Curtis Alexander Homeniuk, 39, was sentenced by Justice Martha Devlin, in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminister on Nov. 28 on 14 counts related to items seized when police searched his home on Jan.26, 2018 – including a loaded prohibited weapon, ammunition and stolen property – and three counts related to controlled substances seized from him when he was in police cells.
Devlin noted police searched his residence in response to an emergency 911 call. After police found a man bleeding heavily in a bedroom, and he was taken to hospital, they secured a search warrant and seized a loaded, sawed-off Ruger SR-22 rifle under Homeniuk’s mattress.
“Both the barrel and stock of the rifle had been sawed off,” Devlin noted. “An over-sized ammunition magazine was attached to the rifle with live ammunition in the magazine. The rifle also had a live bullet in the ejection port.”
Police also seized a CN Police MDT laptop, BC Ambulance Service jacket, a Garda World Security jacket, a Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib Society chequebook, and another chequebook belonging to Choice Electrical Ltd.
“Police also seized multiple identity documents, including BC Driver’s Licences, BC Identity Cards and BC Services Cards all related to individuals other than Mr. Homeniuk,” the judge noted. When he was arrested, he was on a Conditional Sentence Order (CSO), or house arrest.
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When Homeniuk was removed from his cell to speak to his lawyer, the court heard, police discovered a plastic bag with .38 grams of heroin, a small plastic bag containing 1.43 grams of crack cocaine and two bags containing 1.71 grams of methamphetamine.
His criminal record includes mischief, theft, break-and-enter, assault with a weapon, obstruction of justice, robbery, dangerous driving causing death and numerous breaches of court orders.
He has served three federal sentences. The judge noted in her reasons for sentencing that “during each, his parole was either suspended or revoked” and “as his record reflects, the only gaps in his offending behaviour are when he was incarcerated.”
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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