‘Free to go’: U.S. man acquitted in seizure of 56 handguns at border

A Florida man arrested more than a year ago at the Blue Water Bridge amid what officials said was one of the largest gun seizures at a Southwestern Ontario border in recent memory has been acquitted of all charges at trial and finally permitted to return to the U.S.

Author of the article:Terry Bridge • Sarnia Observer
Published Dec 15, 2022 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

A Florida man arrested more than a year ago at the Blue Water Bridge in what officials described as one of the largest gun seizures at a Southwestern Ontario border in recent memory was acquitted of all charges at trial and finally permitted to return to the U.S.

Vivian Richards, 48, initially faced nine charges after border officials said 56 handguns – the majority missing serial numbers – and 100 rounds of ammo were found in boxes in the trunk of his rental car at the bridge between Michigan and the Sarnia area on Nov. 1, 2021. After spending several weeks that fall in the Sarnia Jail, the delivery driver from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was released around Christmas on $18,000 bail and GPS tracking, but with an order to stay in Sarnia or Point Edward until his trial was over.

The Crown only opted to prosecute two of the nine charges – making false or deceptive statements under the Customs Act and possessing a firearm knowing that the serial number on it has been altered, defaced or removed under the Criminal Code. After Richards pleaded not guilty, what was expected to be a two-day trial was finally held in September with a third day in October.

Richards testified Oct 14 and denied knowing what was in the boxes when he inadvertently crossed into Canada while following GPS directions from his pickup point in Warren, Mich., to his dropoff spot in Malone, N.Y.

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