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Penticton prolific offender gets 45 days for running from police with loaded gun

Seamus Kirby has 42 prior convictions and was arrested in a quiet Summerland neighbourhood
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Penticton resident Seamus Kirby will serve 45 more days in jail for having a loaded handgun while having a 10 year firearm ban and a warrant out for his arrest. (File photo)

One of Penticton’s prolific offenders was handed 45 more days in jail and a lifetime firearms ban after running through a quiet Summerland neighbourhood with a loaded handgun that had a bullet in the chamber.

Seamus Kirby, 31, pleaded guilty to one count for a loaded prohibited firearm in Penticton Supreme Court.

Kirby has 42 convictions including robbery, assault of his ex-girlfriend, 20 breaches of conditions, and a firearm conviction.

The court learned that around 3:30 p.m. on May 26, 2021, Kirby, who had a warrant out for his arrest, was spotted by an off-duty officer walking in a quiet Summerland neighbourhood of Prairie Valley Road.

The off-duty officer recognized Kirby and called Penticton RCMP. The off-duty officer observed Kirby plug in a phone to an outside outlet of a seniors’ facility.

Once an officer arrived in a police car and got out of his vehicle, Kirby fled on foot through a stream and into the backyards of a neighbourhood that led to a park.

A dog handler and Halo, the police canine arrived on scene and tracked down Kirby.

At the same time, a neighbour called 911 to say he had witnessed a man with blue-dyed hair throw something that looked like a gun into the stream. The officer chasing Kirby observed a black 9mm handgun in the water. The court learned the gun was loaded with a bullet in the chamber.

Kirby was already under two firearms bans, one of them a 10-year ban.

Halo had to bite Kirby to succeed in the arrest. The Penticton man has been in jail ever since.

A joint submissions by the Crown and defence was submitted to the judge for 33 months in jail and the lifetime firearm ban and submitting a DNA sample.

Given that Kirby has been in jail for 645 days since his arrest last year, he has been given an enhanced time credit to 990 days, reducing the time remaining on his sentence to 45 days.

Defense said Kirby has an unenviable record caused by substance use. There was no discussion during his sentencing nor request for treatment. Kirby said he hopes to get a job in the trades when he gets out.

In 2020, he was given jail time for fleeing police in a stolen car and crashing it in Okanagan Falls.

In 2019, Kirby was sentenced to time served for beating and robbing his own girlfriend. At the time, his lawyer said he was a victim of the ‘opioid crisis.’

READ MORE: Seamus Kirby given jail for fleeing police in stolen car

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
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