Second-hand info about a man pointing a firearm at a worker clearing driveways in the city's west-end snowballed into jail time for Derek Meyers-Lewis.
On Dec. 13, 2024, city police were contacted at 7 a.m. by a person who had heard about the confrontation outside an Alexandra Street residence.
The man approached the snow removal vehicle, began striking it with a shovel and then tried to open the door.
The driver put his foot on the attacker, preventing Meyers-Lewis from hitting him, Ontario Justice Romuald Kwolek heard last week.
He locked the door and moved on to the next driveway, prosecutor Stuart Woods said.
Meyers-Lewis returned, pulled out what looked like a firearm from a black fanny pack he had across his chest and pointed it at the employee, who drove away.
No weapons were seized by police when he was arrested.
On Wednesday, the 39-year-old accused pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
"There is a lot of confusion about this matter," his lawyer Eric McCooeye told the court.
Meyers-Lewis appeared to be the person who made a gesture with something that could be a weapon, he said.
Woods responded that two witnesses had reported seeing an item resembling a handgun.
"There were issues about the weapon and who did what to whom," McCooeye said, adding that if the matter had gone to trial it would have taken a number of days.
The lawyers jointly recommended a sentence of time served, plus 18 months probation.
His client has been at the jail for 90 days, which is the equivalent of 135 days with the enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody, McCooeye said.
Meyers-Lewis has a criminal record, Woods said, asking the judge to also impose a five-year weapons prohibition.
Kwolek accepted the proposed sentence.
There were triable issues and the guilty plea spared witnesses from having to testify in court, he said.
The judge called the act of violence an aggravating factor, noting the man's limited record includes threatening.
During his 18-month probation, Meyers-Lewis can have no contact with any identifiable employee of the snow removal company and must remain 20 metres away from them.
He is also banned from possessing weapons for five years.