Parkland County man whose gun was used in Edmonton mass shooting given $1,500 fine

A Parkland County man who stored a cache of handguns in a shipping container has been handed a $1,500 fine after one of the weapons was stolen and used in a mass shooting.

Russell Lawrence Streeter, 33, pleaded guilty to a single count of careless storage of a firearm in Edmonton Court of King’s Bench Friday, admitting he breached firearms regulations by keeping five pistols in a sea-can on his property.

Two of the firearms were later used in the commission of crimes, including a 2022 shooting at Edmonton’s Ertale Lounge.

Streeter initially faced six charges, including allegations he was a “straw buyer” who used a legitimate firearms licence to purchase guns for resale on the black market. Justice Avril Inglis agreed to accept his plea to the single charge, along with the fine and one-year gun ownership ban proposed by Crown and defence.

“You contributed to these results with your careless storage,” Inglis told Streeter after detailing the carnage linked to unregulated firearms. “I hope this was an extremely sobering experience for you.”

“It was life changing,” replied Streeter.

Imbert George was killed and seven others injured when a group of four men opened fire on Ertale Lounge on March 12, 2022.

Sometime before that, five guns went missing after someone cut the single padlock securing the sea-can on Streeter’s property. Despite having been the holder of a restricted possession and acquisition licence since 2010, Streeter didn’t report the theft until June 6, 2022.

One of Streeter’s guns, a Glock, was recovered by police during a traffic stop in 2023. The serial number had been destroyed, but police were able to restore the identifier and link it to the Ertale shooting. Police later turned up another of the pistols during a drug probe that fall. The other three have never been found.

Streeter was charged in February 2024. At the time, police said they searched his home and found “additional evidence to support that he was trafficking firearms.” 

Prosecutor Breena Smith argued a fine and weapons ban were appropriate in the circumstances. She credited Streeter for his guilty plea, which saved the justice system the time and cost of a trial.

Defence lawyer Darin Slaferek said his client is a heavy duty mechanic and father of three with no criminal record.

“I have no doubt Mr. Streeter will never be before this court again,” he said.

Inglis told Streeter that if he continues to own guns after the one-year ban, she hopes he will be “far more diligent.” She noted ownership of handguns in Canada is “a privilege, not a right.”

Of the men who shot up the night club, one was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, another remains before the courts, a third is under a Canada-wide arrest warrant and a fourth has never been identified.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

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@jonnywakefield.bsky.social

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