On October 26, 2023, shortly after 11:00 p.m., members from the Sault Ste Marie Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a suspicious person on a property on Finn’s Bay Road in Laird Township.

The owner of property observed a person on their security cameras walking in front of their garage and confronted the person. That person walked away to a parked pick-up truck that was waiting and left the area. Descriptors of that person and the driver a pick-up truck was given to police.

Approximately an hour later police located the pick-up truck between the 100 and 200 block of Finn’s Bay Road. While officers were speaking to the occupants of the vehicle police observed an open partial can of beer in the centre console. Subsequently, the vehicle was searched with police locating drug paraphernalia on the passenger side and two firearms in the back seat that were stored unsafely.

As a result, the driver Kenneth POULTON, 60 years-of-age from Mississauga First Nation was charged with:

  • Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm (two counts)
  • Careless Storage of Firearm, Weapon, Prohibited Device or Ammunition (two counts)
  • Operate a Motor Vehicle Without Insurance
  • Having Care or Control of a Motor Vehicle with Open Container of Liquor

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Sault Ste Marie on December 18, 2023. The driver’s vehicle was towed from the scene.