Pubdate: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 Kitchener-Waterloo Record Contact: http://www.therecord.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/225 Author: Dave Pink POT-HOUSE SEARCH LEGAL, JUDGE RULES Called By Hydro Workers After Blackout, Police Find Large Marijuana Operation CAMBRIDGE -- The police search of a suspected home-based marijuana-growing operation in Cambridge last year was not conducted illegally, Judge Colin Westman ruled yesterday. David Lang, the lawyer for accused marijuana grower Hau Van Do, contended in Ontario Court in Kitchener that Waterloo regional police officers had no right to enter the house last Sept. 23 when they arrived to provide security for Cambridge Hydro workers. The hydro workers had traced the source of a day-long neighbourhood blackout to the house at 66 The Greenway, and called in police for assistance, court was told. After police entered the house and saw the marijuana plants, they called for a search warrant. Lang argued that the police had no right to enter the house until after they had the warrant. "Given that they had a suspicion (that the house contained a marijuana-growing operation), I submit that they were making a criminal investigation," said Lang. "My position is that the police breached the Charter (of Rights and Freedoms.) Federal prosecutor Justin Heimpel countered that under the Ontario Electricity Act, the hydro workers had a right to enter the house -- and the right to call in police for security. "They were going into a situation where they weren't sure what was going on and they needed security." Heimpel pointed out that when the police and electrical crews arrived at the door and identified themselves, the suspect let them in and showed them to the electrical panels in the basement. "There's no question they had suspicions," the judge said. "I'm prepared to infer that the hydro officials were there acting in the best interests of their customers. They were doing, in my view, what is totally reasonable under the circumstances . . . to rectify an electrical difficulty." Westman added that even if the police had not gone into the house, the hydro employees would have seen any marijuana plants and told police. Waterloo regional police Const. Minh Nguyen testified that he was dispatched to the house with other police officers at about 9:40 p.m. to assist Hydro crews. Nguyen said that Do opened the door and allowed the officers and the electrical crew to enter. Nguyen said he spoke to the accused in Vietnamese, and that he was polite, offered no resistance and seemed to understand the situation. Nguyen added that after the officers saw marijuana plants, he arrested Do and read him his rights in Vietnamese. Nguyen said Do told him he had come to Canada from Australia, and that he did not own the house -- only that he was looking after it for another man. The trial continues today. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom