Man busted for loaded shotgun right across the street from St. Catharines police station

Good salespeople will always tell you it’s about “location, location, location” but clearly, someone didn’t get the memo about bad locations in St. Catharines.

When a man was approached by a stranger about buying drugs in a parking lot on Welland Ave. near Geneva St. yesterday (May 31), the seller was probably not very aware of his surroundings.

That’s because the Niagara Police District 1 station is located at 188 Welland St., mere feet from that intersection.

Making things worse was the fact that a shotgun handle was clearly sticking out of the wannabe dealer’s back-pack. The man politely declined the drug offer and then contacted the police as soon as he could.

Obviously, the police didn’t have far to go to find the suspect who was, indeed, carrying a loaded 12-gauge shotgun in his backpack along with five rounds of ammunition.

Zach Charles Leblanc, 30, was charged with:

• Possession of a firearm knowingly not having a licence

• Possession of a stolen firearm

• Possession of a firearm without a licence

• Possession of a firearm or ammunition against a prohibition order

• Possession of a prohibited of a firearm with ammunition

• Careless storage of a firearm

• Failing to comply with a probation order

• Carrying a concealed weapon

There were no drug-related charges. Leblanc was held for a bail hearing today (June 1) via video link to the courthouse in St. Catharines.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the lead detective by dialing 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1009711 with any relevant information.