By Andrew Seymour

OTTAWA-An alleged gang member who resisted arrest while concealing a loaded semi-automatic handgun in his waistband has been sentenced to nearly four years behind bars and prohibited from possessing firearms for life.

Abdi-Haji Omar, 24, was handed a 45-month sentence Wednesday after pleading guilty to three weapons offences, including possession of a loaded prohibited firearm, possession of a prohibited magazine capable of holding more than 10 bullets and resisting arrest following an Aug. 8, 2008, incident outside a housing complex on Russell Road.

The charge for possession of a loaded firearm carries a mandatory three-year prison sentence for a first offence.

According to an agreed statement of fact, plainclothes officers from the Ottawa police gun and gangs direct action response team observed Omar and three other males completing what they believed to be drug deals.

When uniformed officers approached Omar to question him, he kept touching a bulge in the front of his pants. As one officer attempted to search him, Omar told him, in Somali, “leave it alone,” and reached toward the bulge.

The officer then grabbed Omar’s right hand before other officers intervened and put Omar, who kicked and pulled away, to the ground. Court heard Omar continued reaching for the bulge in the front of his pants even after officers handcuffed him.

Police then searched Omar and found a Springfield Armory SD-40 semi-automatic handgun in a plastic bag, assistant Crown attorney Stephen Donoghue said. Ten rounds of ammunition were found within its 12-round clip.

A cellphone that “constantly rang” was also seized from Omar, which police used to make several deals for crack cocaine and marijuana, the statement of facts said.

“Sorry, I guess,” Omar told Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger when asked if he had anything to say. “Lesson learned.”

Police said Omar, who is known on the street by the nickname “Ranger,” is a member of the Ledbury-Banff Crips. Omar’s lawyer, Dominic Lamb, said he did not admit to any affiliations with the street gang.

Lamb said Omar, who has three previous convictions for drug trafficking, came to Canada from Somalia with his now-elderly father when he was 10 years old.

A high-school graduate, Omar had been attending the University of Ottawa in 2006, but dropped out because he couldn’t afford to continue, Lamb said. Omar is the father of a 19-month-old son and hopes to learn a trade following his release from prison in order to support his family, Lamb said.

Omar, who has been in custody since his arrest, was given two-for-one credit for 131⁄2 months spent in pre-sentence custody. He will have 18 months of his sentence left to serve.

He was also prohibited from possessing weapons for life and must provide a DNA sample to the national databank.

Souce: Ottawa Citizen, Sept 24, 2009