A high-stakes investigation by North Vancouver RCMP into a mail-order purchase of a handgun has led to seven charges against a North Vancouver man.
Now, police are voicing relief that the handgun – a Glock 34 Gen4 – has been seized and has been taken out of criminal hands.
North Vancouver police first learned about the shifty sale April 30, from the Armstrong RCMP, who alerted officers to a fraudulent transaction involving the private sale of handgun to a buyer in North Vancouver.
At that point, the race to intercept the gun was on, said Sgt. Peter DeVries, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP.
“We absolutely did not want another illegal handgun to make it to the street,” he said. “We knew we had a limited amount of time before it would be lost to the criminal element. So we jumped on it.”
Police knew the handgun had been purchased online and shipped to an address in North Vancouver.
The suspect allegedly bought the restricted firearm under a false name, said DeVries, using documents belonging to another person, who had required permits to legally purchase a gun.
“There are provisions for buying and selling handguns for sporting purposes,” said DeVries.
The transaction was first flagged for police by the gun seller, he added, who discovered that some information provided by the purported buyer of the gun didn’t line up.
By the end of the first day, officers had tracked the suspect to a building in Vancouver, and shortly after midnight on the morning of May 1 they made an arrest, with the help of a police negotiator.
The gun, however, was still missing.
Shortly after, police got search warrants for two units at the Vancouver building where they’d made the arrest, and where they believed the gun was still stashed, said DeVries. Luckily, they found it.
Along with the Glock, police also found a variety of other items, including ammunition, holsters and an airsoft pistol.
Charged is Trevor Glenn Beaton, 29, of North Vancouver, who faces seven charges, including possession of a restricted weapon contrary to a prohibition order, careless handling of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a restricted firearm, possession of a prohibited weapon, device or ammunition, possession of a restricted firearm while it’s loaded, unlawful possession of identity documents and identity theft.
Beaton has been remanded in custody until his next court date, June 10.
