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(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

A Penticton man tried but failed to avoid jail after claiming his online order of nine Tasers was a joke.

James Ashley Jerome Cousineau, 44, was already prohibited from owning weapons when he ordered them, which is partly why a judge ruled he'll spend 18 months in jail rather than house arrest.

"Tasers are not toys; they are weapons capable of causing serious injury and even death," Judge Clarke Burnett said. "Mr. Cousineau’s actions in committing this offence and his dismal record of complying with court orders establishes that he would be a danger to the community if he was to remain in it while he served his sentence."

Cousineau's Taser order was delivered by an undercover police officer after three packages were intercepted at the border. One was supposed to be delivered to a house in Naramata and the two others in Penticton, according to the Dec. 13 provincial court decision.

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In January 2022, RCMP took the first package to Naramata in a "controlled delivery." Police installed a device that would alert them when the box was opened, which it was shortly after.

The RCMP Emergency Response Team raided the house, finding Cousineau, his girlfriend and two other men inside.

"Man this is crazy, all this for a Taser," he said to police at the time, according to the decision.

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The box of Tasers were on his bed, but police also seized a shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle in a gun case in the bedroom. The rifle was loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition. A 9 millimetre pistol was on a bedside table and a rifle fitted with a silencer was behind it.

He claimed in court that the purchase was a joke and ordered them while he was drunk. Although Cousineau pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon, he sought a sentence of 12 months under house arrest.

"These devices are not toys; that is why they are prohibited and regulated," Burnett said.

He suggested Cousineau was likely buying them for not only himself, but others as well since he had nine on the way. All the while, he was prohibited from owning weapons at all.

Crown prosecutors sought a three-year jail sentence. While Burnett disagreed with the length, he still decided Cousineau should spend his sentence in custody.

Burnett gave him a lifetime weapons prohibition, along with the 18-month prison sentence.

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