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Man with lifetime weapon ban arrested with stolen firearm: police

York Regional Police photo of a stolen firearm seized in a traffic stop in Markham on Dec. 2, 2024. York Regional Police photo of a stolen firearm seized in a traffic stop in Markham on Dec. 2, 2024.
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York Regional Police say a traffic stop in Markham on Monday led to the seizure of a loaded firearm despite its owner being banned from possessing one.

Police say they were conducting patrols in the area of Highway 7 East and Cornell Central Boulevard on Dec. 2 when they stopped a speeding vehicle just before 11 p.m.

The driver of the vehicle was exhibiting signs of impairment and open alcohol was found in the vehicle, police say.

As a result, the male driver was arrested, and a follow-up search of the vehicle revealed a firearm.

Officers have since learned the recovered firearm had been stolen in a residential break and enter in Kitchener in 2020.

Police have charged Vildredo Edinson Martinez-Fontela, 41, with 10 related offences including possession of a loaded restricted firearm and possession of property obtained by crime.

At the time of his arrest, Martinez-Fontela was already on a life-time weapon prohibition, police say. 

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