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Elamin, the passenger, and Satvir Singh, the driver, were both armed and driving down Highway 3 that morning when a vehicle coming in the opposite direction veered into their lane and struck the Lexus head-on shortly after 9 a.m. First-responders discovered the weapons and ammunition, triggering a heavy police response and temporary road closure.

Singh, 24, pleaded guilty in 2018 to a number of firearms-related offences and was sentenced to two years less a day in jail, but he gave no explanation as to what the pair was up to that morning. At his trial last fall, Elamin, who had a mask around his neck on the morning of the crash, also offered no explanation as to what the two might have been up to.

Photo by Dan Janisse / Windsor Star

Elamin’s trial heard that the accused had been in twin altercations three days earlier and had suffered “significant brain injury.” But the judge said Elamin did not seek medical attention at the time and there was “no objective evidence” linking any brain injury to his subsequent behaviour. If the car crash caused any brain injury, Dean pointed to the Crown’s position that Elamin already had the firearm in his possession prior to that.

The judge said the defence “has not convinced me, on the balance of probability, that the accused was acting non-voluntarily at the time of the offences.” Dean found Elamin, who was 27 at the time of the 2017 crash, guilty on all 13 firearms-related counts he faced.

Prior to sentencing, however, the judge agreed on holding a “delay argument,” in which the defence will seek to have the case dismissed due to the length of time it’s taken to prosecute. A date for that hearing will be set Wednesday.