A Calgary woman who once worked for former United Conservative Party MLA Leela Aheer has been sentenced to six months of house arrest after pleading guilty to a firearms offence.Andrea Katherine Petzold entered the plea in Alberta Court of King’s Bench on Wednesday, admitting to possessing a prohibited firearm without a licence or registration. The charge stemmed from a May, 2023 RCMP search of her southwest Calgary home..According to an agreed statement of facts, officers found a Glock 19 semi-automatic handgun inside a black case stored in a basement cupboard. In photos, the handgun appeared to have mismatching serial numbers.The weapon was determined to be a functioning prohibited firearm under the Criminal Code.Petzold acknowledged that she was reckless or willfully blind to the gun’s presence and that she did not hold a Possession and Acquisition Licence or registration certificate. .Before her guilty plea, a jury trial had begun earlier in the week. In her opening address, Crown prosecutor Alexandra Russell told jurors the case was about “public safety and the common-sense rules that govern firearm ownership in Canada.”“These laws exist to protect our communities from the risks posed by illegal and improperly stored weapons,” she said, outlining that police had discovered a prohibited handgun and overcapacity magazines hidden in Petzold’s basement.RCMP Cpl. Ramzey Abdelhameid testified that he and other officers executed the search warrant at Petzold’s home on May 17, 2023..Inside, they found the Glock pistol, two loaded 15-round magazines, and loose ammunition stored together in a basement storage area. Officers also located identification, documents, and shipping boxes bearing Petzold’s name.The jury was later dismissed after Petzold entered her guilty plea.Justice of King’s Bench accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence lawyers for a six-month conditional sentence order, to be served under house arrest. The sentence includes a 10-year firearms prohibition and a routine DNA order..Crown counsel Russell said that while the offence was serious because of the potential danger posed by prohibited firearms, the Crown accepted that Petzold’s moral culpability was reduced because there was no evidence the weapon was used in any criminal activity.Defence lawyer Ian McKay described Petzold as a 45-year-old single mother with no prior criminal record, a former member of the British military, and an active community volunteer. He said the gun did not belong to her and that she had accepted responsibility for its presence in her home.Petzold once worked with Craig Chandler and the Progressive Group for Independent Business and more recently was a staffer with former UCP MLA Leela Aheer, who placed last in that party's 2022 leadership race.She also worked in the Legislative Assembly Office of the Government of Alberta and calls herself a Chinatown advocate and community organizer.
