Pubdate: Fri, 17 Jun 2016
Source: Standard, The (St. Catharines, CN ON)
Copyright: 2016 St. Catharines Standard
Contact: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/letters
Website: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/676
Author: Alison Langley
Page: A3

COUPLE ACQUITTED OF DRUG CHARGES AFTER RIGHTS VIOLATION

A St. Catharines couple have been cleared of any wrongdoing after a
judge ruled the Niagara Regional Police violated their rights after
they executed a search warrant at their home and seized more than $1
million in marijuana.

In a Superior Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Thursday, Judge
Richard Lococo ruled the evidence that police submitted to a justice
of the peace did not justify the execution of a search warrant.

"The errors and omissions are so serious that the search warrant
cannot stand," he said.

Any evidence obtained as a result of the search, the judge added,
would also be excluded at trial.

Andrew Bews and Shannon Holditch were charged with production of a
controlled substance, possession of marijuana for the purpose of
trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime in May 2013 after
police entered their Martindale Road in St. Catharines and seized pot
plants and processed marijuana.

The duo were committed to stand trial before a judge and jury
following a preliminary hearing held in Mach 2015.

Defence lawyers Brenda Sandulak and Ron Charlebois had filed the
application on behalf of both defendants saying their rights under the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been violated and challenged the
validity of the search warrant.

After the judge's ruling Thursday, Bews and Holditch re-elected to
have a trial by a judge alone.

They pleaded not guilty and federal prosecutor Wally Essert told the
judge the Crown could not proceed as it was unable to introduce any
evidence and asked the judge to acquit the couple on all charges.

In April 2013, court heard, Horizon Utilities voluntarily provided
police with a list containing smart metre readings from 4,000 customers.

If a reading appeared high, police would launch an
investigation.

The judge said investigations often result from a complaint or a tip
from an informant and not from simply being provided a list.

The defence lawyers said the arrangement between the utility and the
police service - which no longer exists - could be seen as collusion.

"To say that I thought this was a privacy violation of severe
components is an understatement," Sandulak said, referring to when she
first learned of the lists.

"To me it was so flagrant that I was offended by it."

Sandulak said Bews and Holditch are thrilled with the outcome of the
case.

"They want to get on with their lives," she said. "They've had this
hanging over their heads since 2013."
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MAP posted-by: Matt