A complex trial was avoided on Wednesday as both the prosecution and defense in a firearms case reached a plea agreement, resulting in a Harbour Grace resident being sent to federal prison. John Byrne, aged 52, initially faced over 120 charges stemming from a police raid on a residence in Harbour Grace in June 2023, where authorities suspected the production and sale of 3D-printed firearms. Instead of proceeding with the scheduled nine-day trial at the Supreme Court in St. John’s, Byrne pleaded guilty to 20 offenses related to the police operation, including multiple counts of firearm possession while prohibited, as well as manufacturing and possessing a loaded prohibited firearm.
The investigation into Byrne began when the Canada Border Services Agency intercepted a package from the U.S. addressed to him at a residence on LeMarchant Street in Harbour Grace in May 2023. Following a subsequent search of the property, authorities uncovered an arsenal of weapons, including long guns, handguns, 3D-printed firearms in various stages of assembly, a 3D printer, prohibited weapons, 3D-printed magazines, and ammunition. Additionally, SD cards containing instructions on manufacturing firearms and parts were seized. Byrne, who was already under a firearms prohibition from a court in Lindsay, Ont., since 1995, admitted ownership and sole possession of the firearms, parts, and equipment.
Byrne’s co-accused, Crystal Chislett, had all charges against her dismissed. In a separate incident, Byrne pleaded guilty to eight additional charges laid more than a year after the initial police operation, while he was on bail. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) alerted the Mounties in August 2024 about activities at Byrne’s residence, leading to the discovery of handguns, firearm parts, body armor, and ammunition during a subsequent search. The police were able to link items seized from Byrne to ammunition found at an RNC crime scene in Torbay on the same day.
A joint submission proposed a seven-year sentence for Byrne, with consideration given to challenges the Crown would have faced at trial, such as establishing identity and the classification of certain items as firearms. Justice Dean Porter accepted the plea agreement, acknowledging the time saved by avoiding a lengthy trial. With credit for time served, Byrne is left with a little over four years on his sentence. Byrne becomes the second individual in the province convicted of offenses related to ghost guns, following Scott Waterman of Torbay, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in September 2025 for trafficking 3D-printed weapons.