76 Charges Laid Against St. Catharines Man Found with Replica Gun at Hospital

St. Catharines - On April 28, 2026, uniformed officers with the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) 1 District (St. Catharines/Thorold) responded to the Marotta Family Hospital in St. Catharines for reports of a patient found to be in possession of a gun.

Responding officers determined the gun to be an imitation firearm, however the male was found to be in contravention of a probation order for having the imitation firearm and was arrested.

In a separate incident, information was received from the male’s residence with regards to more weapons.  Detectives with the 1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) took carriage of the investigation.  Detectives were granted judicial authorization to enter the residence (search warrant) and several items were located and seized.

As a result of both investigations, 38-year-old Jamie KHOUATHIP of St. Catharines was arrested and charged with 76 Criminal Code offences as follows.

• Careless Storage of a Firearm x3
• Careless Storage of Ammunition x6
• Possess Firearm Without Holding a Licence x3
• Unlicenced Person Possess Restricted Weapon x3
• Possess Restricted Firearm Knowingly Not Holding a Licence x3
• Possess Prohibited Weapon Knowing No Authority 
• Possess Loaded Firearm x3
• Possess Firearm While Prohibited x9
• Possess Ammunition While Prohibited x19
• Possess Weapon While Prohibited
• Possess Firearm Part While Prohibited x2
• Fail to Comply with Probation Order x19
• Possession of a Weapon Obtained by Crime
• Possession of Prohibited Firearm Obtained by Crime x2
• Possession of a Restricted Firearm Obtained by Crime

Detectives seized the following items during the investigation.

• Two .22cal Switch Guns (loaded)
• .22cal Handgun (loaded)
• Three BB Guns
• Shot Gun Barrel
• Cut off Gun Stock
• Shotgun Magazine-12 Gauge (Loaded with 12 rounds of slugs)
• Numerous Rounds of Various Calibre Ammunition
• Knuckle knife(prohibited)
• Three Imitation Firearms with bullets (not operable)

KHOUATHIP remains in custody after a bail hearing which was held Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at the Robert S.K. Welch Courthouse, located at 59 Church Street in St. Catharines.

Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Niagara Regional Police Service’s 1 District CIB (St. Catharines/Thorold) at 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1009610.

Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information that leads to an arrest.

NRPS Incident 26-55913