Man, 19, sentenced for firing gun in Halifax street

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Cody Thomas MacLellan, 19, has been sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment for firing a gun in Halifax last year.

MacLellan appeared in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty last week to discharging a firearm with intent to wound and possession of a loaded prohibited firearm.

“Use of firearms in our society in Halifax is more than serious,” said Justice Patrick Duncan while addressing the courtroom, which included family and friends of MacLellan. “It’s a dangerous time for people involved in criminal activity because they are all shooting at each other.”

Duncan added that there was no evidence that this was the case here, but MacLellan’s actions showed a “disregard for the safety of people in the line of fire.”

MacLellan was arrested on Jan. 17, 2016, after police were called to the 3300 block of Federal Avenue in Halifax. A neighbour heard yelling and saw a man getting out of a black truck with what the neighbour thought was a bat. Another man, later identified as MacLellan, fired shots at the truck, but no one was hurt.

Duncan sentenced MacLellan to three years for the first offence, and five and a half for the second, which will be served concurrently. MacLellan is also prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years from the end of his sentence.

The sentence was a joint recommendation between the Crown and the defence, which are usually accepted by a judge. 

MacLellan was originally scheduled for trial next fall. However, Duncan told MacLellan that his guilty plea last week was significant, in that it saves “inconvenience and the public’s time and money.”