Former Ice Road Trucker star sentenced for 3D printing guns in West Kelowna – Kelowna News

The former star of the popular reality show Ice Road Truckers was sentenced to three years in prison in Kelowna court Friday morning after she was caught 3D printing a handgun in her West Kelowna home.

Vladimir Pleskot was arrested to begin serving his prison sentence Friday morning after pleading guilty to illegally manufacturing handguns between October 2021 and April 2022. Both the prosecution and defense agreed that a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for the crime was appropriate, and Deputy Chief Judge Paul Dohm concurred with the sentence.

Before the verdict was announced, Pleskot apologized for his actions and said he was “very ashamed and very sorry.”

Pleskot, now 48, starred on Ice Road Truckers for four seasons (2009-14) while also owning and operating his own long-distance trucking company based in Manitoba.

Pleskot bought a 3D printer in October 2021 and began making handgun parts in West Kelowna, District Attorney Jason Hatherly said Friday. But he was unable to produce all the parts he needed and began importing metal rails for the firearms frames from the United States.

He first came into law enforcement’s crosshairs when border guards intercepted a train frame that was deliberately mislabeled on its way to Pleskot’s home.

Police conducted a search of Pleskot’s home, vehicle and storage unit in West Kelowna on April 27, 2022, and found a 3D printer in operation, printing a lower receiver for a handgun. Police confiscated seven 3D-printed lower receivers for a handgun, 9mm ammunition, a money counting machine, pepper spray and a digital scale.

A Vancouver Police firearms expert has determined that two of the secured 3D-printed guns discharged without the use of any additional parts.

Police found digital evidence that Pleskot was trying to sell his firearms through “middlemen,” Hatherly said, and recordings on his computer showed Pleskot firing the firearm.

Born in Czechoslovakia, Pleskot moved to Canada in 2004 at age 29 with a work permit and began working as a long-haul truck driver. He soon started his own company, VP Express, which led to a four-season stint with Ice Road Truckers.

In 2015, Pleskot moved to the Okanagan, where he continued working as a long-haul truck driver. However, in 2021, he stopped driving and began working as a truck driving instructor. He also planned to start a legitimate gun parts business by starting a new company and buying a domain name for the website.

But Pleskot’s wife fell ill this year and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2022. She died in July 2022, a few months after police raided Pleskot’s home.

“Mr. Pleskot intended to sell gun parts through a legitimate business he had set up, and if his wife had not become ill, he likely would have stuck to that plan,” said Pleskot’s defense attorney, West Pryde.

“In our view, he lost sight of the legality of his actions when his wife became ill… Mr Pleskott is a person of good character who committed this offence at a very difficult time in his life.”

Pleskot has no previous criminal record.

“I’m not going to make excuses for what I did, I broke the law. I wasn’t in a good state of mind, my wife was dying, but that’s no excuse,” Pleskott told Judge Dohm. “I’m very ashamed and very sorry that I broke the rules.”

Judge Dohm offered Pleskot his condolences for the loss of his wife and told him he would be a very good candidate for early parole. Pleskot will be eligible for parole after serving six months of his sentence.