Pubdate: Mon, 07 Nov 2005 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2005, The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.globeandmail.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Author: Mark Hume COURT THROWS OUT DRUG CHARGES Officers Had No Grounds To Search Home Suspected Of Containing Crystal Meth Lab VANCOUVER -- When RCMP officers backing up a child protection worker stumbled upon a crystal meth lab in a Fraser Valley home, they thought they had an easy collar. But three years after Doris Westrageer and Donald Wisser were busted in Mission, charged with possession and production of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, they walked free when a Supreme Court of British Columbia judge threw out all the evidence against them. In a written judgment released during the weekend, Mr. Justice Brian Joyce ruled that while the police had a right to accompany the child protection worker to the home, they didn't have grounds for a search when -- after detecting a chemical smell they thought could be from a meth lab -- they pounded on a locked basement door. The case began to unfold in November of 2002, when a B.C. child protection worker, identified in the judgment only as Ms. Holly, got a tip that children living in a house on Hillcrest Avenue in Mission might be in need of protection because of an alleged lack of food in the home, domestic violence, and a crystal meth lab in the basement. When Ms. Holly called the RCMP and asked a police officer, identified in the judgment as Constable Louie, if he could search the house, she was told an anonymous tip was not enough to go on. But when she said she was going to check on the safety of the children, Constable Louie advised her to take police officers along for protection. With three officers backing her up, Ms. Holly knocked on the door of the home, introduced the group, and asked if they could "take a look around," Judge Joyce stated. The moment they were in the foyer, the group detected a strong chemical smell. No children were in the house at the time, and the judgment makes no further reference to them. When Ms. Holly asked if she could inspect the basement, she was told it was occupied by a boarder who was away. The family living upstairs said they didn't have keys to the rooms. Judge Joyce stated that after Ms. Holly said she wasn't leaving until she was able to get into the basement, police knocked on an outside door and saw Ms. Westrageer exit through the window, disappear, then return to ask if they had a search warrant. "After knocking on the door several times, Constable Louie began to kick at the door in a more insistent manner. He announced that if the occupants did not open the door, he would force it open. Mr. Wisser eventually opened the door and was immediately handcuffed," Judge Joyce stated. It was only then that Constable Louie prepared what is called an information to obtain a search warrant, which was submitted to a justice of the peace. The defence argued that police had used Ms. Holly "as their Trojan Horse" to get into the house, but Judge Joyce disagreed, saying he did not think police were "part of a ruse concocted to advance a criminal investigation." The entry into the house was reasonable, he stated, but he felt differently about the entry into the basement. "While the police did not break down the door, they gained entry to the premises under the threat of doing so. . . . There was no permission given to enter," Judge Joyce stated. He ruled the basement search was unreasonable. Judge Joyce said Constable Louie had grounds for "strong suspicions," but he did not have enough evidence to conclude there was a meth lab in the basement. With the evidence ruled inadmissible, the Crown case collapsed and the accused were acquitted. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman