Firearms trafficker who sold guns to Dellen Millard sentenced to 11 years in prison

A Toronto man who sold multiple guns to convicted killer Dellen Millard, including the one used in the murder of Tim Bosma, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Matthew Ward-Jackson was categorized among the city's "worst firearms offenders" by Ontario SuperiorCourt Justice Jane Kelly on Friday morning.

Ward-Jackson, wearing a blue track jacket and sporting tattoos on his scalp and cheeks, lowered his head inside the prisoner's box after the sentence was handed down. He pleaded guilty to each of the nine weapons-related charges he faced last year.

Given credit for time already served in prison, Ward-Jackson has just under five years remaining on his sentence.

• Jury sees photo of handgun purchased by accused killer Dellen Millard at Laura Babcock murder trial

Between February and September of 2012, Ward-Jackson sold three separate handguns to Millard and indicated in at least one instance that he was aware the weapon was being used criminally.

That gun, a Walther PPK handgun, was used in the 2013murder of Tim Bosma. Millard and Mark Smichwere convicted in 2016 of killingBosmaafter they went on a test drive of the Hamilton man'struck.

In a text exchange following the sale, Millard asked Ward-Jackson if the gun was "clean," and later texted that by the time he would return the weapon, "she'll be a dirty girl."

"That's fine lol," Ward-Jackson responded. "I can change her print."

It was a sign Ward-Jackson was "well entrenched" in the illegal firearms market, Kelly said in her decision.

"He knew that one of the firearms would be used for a criminal purpose," she added.

Another weapon sold to Millard, a Smith & Wesson revolver, was found near the body of Millard's father, Wayne Millard, in 2012. That death was initially ruled a suicide, but Dellen Millard has since been charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting trial this spring.

None of the weapons hasbeen linked to Laura Babcock, who disappeared in 2012 and has not been seen since. In December, Millard and Smich were convicted of first-degree murder in her death.

In addition to the three counts of firearms trafficking connected to Millard, Ward-Jackson also pleaded guilty to possession of a fully loaded AK-47 assault rifle, along with extra ammunition and a bullet-proof vest.

He also broke multiplecourt orders around probation and weapons prohibitions, said Kelly.