A man was handed a six-year jail sentence earlier this week for shooting at police officers outside of a Trail ambulance station last fall, but he avoided an attempted murder conviction.
Francis Paradis was arrested outside the Trail Ambulance Station near the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital on the evening of Oct. 25, 2022, after he shot at two RCMP officers and three nearby paramedics.
Police had been called to the scene just before midnight, for reports that the 29-year-old Quebec man had been behaving erratically. Paradis was standing in a dark area near the ambulance station when officers arrived, and as the officers approached him, he fired several rounds from a handgun in their direction.
The officers were not hit and police used a Taser to subdue and arrest him. Paradis has remained in custody since the incident.
He was initially charged with assaulting an officer and a handful of firearms charges, but several months later, the Crown also laid an attempted murder charge.
On Monday, Paradis struck a plea deal with the Crown and pleaded guilty in Rossland to discharging a restricted/prohibited firearm with with intent to wound, maim, disfigure, or endanger life, along with three other firearms offences.
As a result, the Crown stayed the charges of attempted murder and assaulting a police officer.
Discharging a restricted/prohibited firearm with intent carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years imprisonment. Paradis was handed a total sentence of six years jail for the four convictions, according to online court records.
With enhanced credit for presentence time served, at 1.5 days for every day spent in custody, he's left with five years and 93 days left to serve.
“I am thankful that no one was hurt or killed in this incident,” said Sgt. Mike Wicentowich of the Trail RCMP in the days after the incident.
“I would like to commend the bravery of the officers and paramedics who risk their lives and safety in the line of duty during a potentially deadly situation."
