Jail time for man caught with gun, bomb

By Delon Shurtz on October 5, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge man caught with a gun and a home-made bomb will spend his weekends behind bars for the next few months.

Sean Thomas Archibald, 43, pleaded guilty last week in Lethbridge provincial court to charges of unauthorized possession of a firearm and making an explosive device, and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. He is, however, allowed to spend his sentence intermittently between Friday and Sunday until his sentence is complete.

In August of last year, following a two-month investigation, Lethbridge police received information that a group of people was selling drugs in a specific area of the city. An undercover officer arranged to buy fentanil from one of the individuals, and after one of the transactions officers followed the trafficker to a residence on 12 St. C North and set up surveillance.

Officers saw Archibald involved in what they believed was drug trafficking, and on Aug. 25 police conducted a drug bust at the residence, where they found and arrested Archibald. Police also found a .257 calibre rifle and a homemade explosive device.

“The explosive device was of a nature that police – explosive experts – determined to be very unstable,” Federal Crown Prosecutor Mark Klassen told court.

Surrounding homes were evacuated and the bomb was “detonated or disposed of at the scene.”

Archibald, who has a criminal record with convictions for unauthorized possession of a weapon and drug trafficking, also faced additional weapon-related and property related charges, as well as drug charges. However, those charges were withdrawn.

“In terms of a drug aspect of this case, there is just insufficient evidence to proceed on those charges,” Klassen added.

Follow @DShurtzHerald on Twitter