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Man accused of punching cop at Abbotsford Flea Market has most of his charges stayed

Robert Gilliland sentenced to time served for obstructing peace officer
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A man who was accused of punching a cop in the face at the Abbotsford Flea Market earlier this year has been sentenced to time served for one of the seven charges he faced from that incident.

Raymond Gilliland, 46, was sentenced Dec. 20 in Abbotsford provincial court after pleading guilty to obstructing a peace officer.

His other six charges – two counts of assaulting a peace officer and four counts of breaching his bail conditions – were stayed.

Gilliland was arrested on Aug. 25, when two officers who were patrolling the weekly flea market recognized him. They looked up his background, which indicated that Gilliland was required to carry court papers detailing his current bail conditions.

He did not have those papers on him, police said at the time.

RELATED: Charges laid against man accused of punching cop in face at Abbotsford Flea Market

But when the two officers tried to arrest Gilliland for breaching his conditions, a struggle ensued and one of the officers was allegedly punched in the face.

Other people began to gather, and the officers called for backup. Gilliland was pepper-sprayed and eventually arrested.

According to court records, Gilliland was in custody for that incident from Aug. 25 to Sept. 13.

Just one week after he was released from prison, Gilliland was charged with five more offences – possession of stolen property, driving while disqualified, having a stolen document, drug possession and breaching his bail conditions.

He was released from prison on Sept. 20, but was back in custody on Nov. 16 and remained there until sentencing.

In the latter set of offences, he pleaded guilty to the stolen-property charge, also on Dec. 20, and was sentenced to one year of probation.

Gilliland still has several other charges before the courts from December 2018, including four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and obstructing a peace officer.



Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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