Article content A man who faced a slew of gun trafficking charges following a lengthy interprovincial police operation has entered guilty pleas. Manolito Nicodemus Tan of Regina entered pleas Monday morning in the city’s provincial court on what was meant to be the opening day of a multi-day trial. Judge Carol Snell confirmed with him the offences to which he was pleading guilty, to ensure his pleas were voluntary.
These included that between November 2018 and October 2021 he did transfer “one or more” firearms knowing he was not authorized to do so, and that on Sept. 27, 2021 he used a knife in committing an assault. When the latter of these was read to him he paused for a moment.
“No, your honour,” he said, prompting Crown prosecutor Arjun Shankar to rise and ask for a brief adjournment. Once Tan had been given time to speak with his lawyer over the phone, court resumed. He changed his response to confirm that he was indeed voluntarily pleading guilty to that offence.
Shankar told court that while guilty pleas were entered Monday, he expects that lawyers will argue over what a fit sentence is for Tan at a date tentatively scheduled in October. Snell ordered the preparation of a pre-sentence report for Tan to be ready in advance of the scheduled sentencing hearing. Shankar raised the prospect that there may be applications related to constitutional issues brought at a later time, and Snell asked that lawyers file any information related to such applications with th.
