Michael Ball, charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Erin Howlett, remains behind bars – but he was directly connected to a different case which came to an end this week in a Kitchener court.
Eric Antunes, 22, pleaded guilty Tuesday to careless storage of a firearm.
According to his lawyer, John Lang, Antunes agreed to store a 12-gauge shotgun belonging to Ball in his bedroom closet.
It’s not known if the gun had any connection with Ball’s alleged killing of Howlett, nor has the cause of Howlett's death been released by police.
Police discovered the weapon about two weeks before Ball was arrested – unloaded, but without a trigger lock.
“A gun stored in a closet without a trigger lock is clearly careless storage,” says Lang.
“What was accepted at court was that the gun was brought into the residence by a Michael Ball.”
Lang says Ball and Antunes have been friends since high school and lived near each other on Chestnut Street in central Kitchener.
Ball was arrested in November following a five-month police investigation into the death of Howlett, whose body was found in the Grand River in July.
In addition to first-degree murder, he is charged with indignity to a dead body and 34 unrelated weapons and drugs charges.
Antunes, who also pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, was given a probationary sentence.
