Armed soldier was arrested at gunpoint
A Canadian soldier arrested at gunpoint after showing up at a bar with a handgun and ammunition is on probation for three years to get help.
Master Cpl. Scott Simmons, 33, is a member of 22 Wing CFB North Bay and has served overseas including a tour in Afghanistan.
Simmons has undergone counselling and has been on medication since that tour. He mixed the medication with alcohol at a Christmas party and showed up at the bar at about 7 p.m. on Dec. 3 to ask for a job, said Crown attorney Sheila Seguin.
Staff saw Simmons remove a handgun from his waistband as he got into his vehicle and drove away, she said.
North Bay Police Service and Military Police became involved. Police found Simmons drinking at his residence, arrested him at gunpoint and seized an undisclosed number of handguns.
His wife and son were not home at the time.
"What's a concern to me is the risk to the public," Ontario Court Justice Jean-Gilles Lebel said Tuesday.
He said the public doesn't know the psychological impact on a soldier who goes to war.
"Obviously, he has probably observed some bad things over there," the judge said.
There have been 155 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002.
Simmons spent two days in custody before he was released on bail.
The judge suspended the sentence for Simmons to serve three years on probation. He cannot drink during that time, must continue any counselling that his probation officer recommends and cannot possess any weapons unless he's working with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Court heard Simmons was demoted from the rank of sergeant and faces further military disciplinary action, including a suspension and possible discharge.
Simmons has served with the military for 11 years and received a code of conduct award, said his lawyer Killian May.
He said Simmons served in East Timor, Southeast Asia, and was deployed to Afghanistan from June 2008 to February 2009.
Simmons started seeing a mental health nurse later that year, and a physician referred him for counselling and prescribed medication in April 2010, May said.
Simmons cannot recall exactly what happened that night, he said, adding video surveillance at the bar shows ammunition, although it could be argued a handgun was never produced.
Simmons pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and carelessly storing handguns at the residence.
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"Obviously, he has probably observed some bad things over there," the judge said. There have been 155 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002. Simmons spent two days in custody before he was released on bail.
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