A Supreme Court judge has found an Abbotsford man guilty of five drug and weapons charges.
Jason Warrick Purchase, 37, was convicted July 27 in Chilliwack Supreme Court of possession for the purpose of trafficking, careless use of a firearm, possession of a firearm without registration, and two counts of improper storage of a firearm.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 7.
Purchase and six other occupants of a home on Sumas Mountain Road were arrested May 9, 2007 after police responded to a 911 call.
According to court documents, the caller said her brother had contacted her and said he was being threatened by someone with a gun at the property.
When police arrived at the scene, Purchase came out of the house first, and the other six exited after police issued a “call out.”
A search of the residence then turned up boxes of ammunition, a handgun, 11 improperly stored rifles, and marijuana plants that were being grown and harvested.
A police officer testified during Purchase’s trial that the home had been in the midst of a marijuana harvest – called a “clipping party” – in which individuals are hired to separate the bud from the rest of the plant.
The guns and ammunition were found in plain view in various places around the house.