Bad heroin may be making the rounds in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside as residents report an uptick in heroin overdoses. Lorraine Grieves of Vancouver Coastal Health sent a message to staff on Friday, warning of "numerous reports of heroin overdoses over the past few days." Two people overdosed inside, and one outside, of buildings run by the Port-land Hotel Society late last week, executive director Mark Townsend said. "We'll know in the next few days whether this is a real spike or an isolated thing," Townsend said on Sunday. "I'm worried it may be the beginning of something." [continues 99 words]
'Recipe for Disaster': Delays, Too Little Space, Staff Cited Federal crime legislation set to be tabled in Parliament today will put further strain on B.C.'s taxed justice system, experts say. The Stephen Harper government is expected to introduce the first part of its long-awaited criminal reform legislation on the second day of the fall session of Parliament. During the spring election campaign, Harper promised to bundle a number of crime bills as omnibus legislation and ensure its passage within 100 sitting days of the majority Parliament. It appears that time has come. Eric Gottardi, a Vancouver criminal lawyer, said the trickle-down effect of the proposed federal legislation will be felt most by the provinces, which are responsible for courthouses, pre-trial centres and Crown prosecutors. [continues 186 words]
Lead Cop in Failed Ecstasy Case Allegedly Obstructed Investigation An RCMP officer charged in relation to the Surrey Six slaying was responsible for a botched 2007 investigation that led a B.C. judge to toss out all evidence seized from a Richmond ecstasy lab, a recent judgment shows. Cpl. Danny Michaud was one of four officers suspended with pay in 2010 following an Ontario Provincial Police probe into allegations that one of the Surrey Six officers had an inappropriate relationship with a witness. [continues 221 words]
WILMINGTON -- A criminal case making its way to the Delaware Supreme Court could help define personal privacy and set limits on how far police can go when using electronic surveillance in Delaware and perhaps across the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union this week filed a brief in Delaware v. Michael D. Holden, urging the state justices to uphold a lower court ruling that essentially bars police from using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to track people without a court-approved warrant. [continues 958 words]
A three-generation marijuana grow-op has been put out of business following an RCMP raid on two family farms near Falkland, police said Wednesday. About 20 cops swooped in on two properties Tuesday morning, after a month-long police investigation, Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said. Though one man tried to run as police descended on the two properties - -one on Highway 97, the other on Keller Road -a barking police dog and hovering helicopter were enough to make him stop, Moskaluk said. [continues 116 words]
Michael Phelps has achieved greatness in sport, but he is a failure as a role model. He can be trusted to win gold medals and make endorsements. He could not, however, be trusted to operate a submarine. Photographs of Phelps inhaling marijuana were recently published. Inhaling marijuana was not his greatest failing. It was the aftermath more than the offense itself that revealed Phelps' most significant shortcoming. Phelps issued a statement that began, "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment." [continues 589 words]
Like its bigger neighbors, Philadelphia and Baltimore, Wilmington is dealing with runaway violent crime -- enduring a record 26 homicides in 2008. But in Baltimore and Philadelphia, homicide rates have fallen. The difference appears to be that Delaware's big-city neighbors have started programs that train -- even prod -- convicted felons to find work and adjust to life on the streets after they get out of prison. No such state-sponsored programs exist in Delaware, where inmates are released with little more than the clothes on their backs. [continues 2303 words]
WILMINGTON -- Joseph Bentley, the first person in Delaware ever charged and convicted for selling tainted drugs that led to a death, was sentenced to 20 years in prison today. In November, Bentley admitted he sold fentanyl-laced heroin to Seth Boyd, 30, of Dover, who died on April 28, 2006, after snorting the drug. Fentanyl is a painkiller that is 80 times more potent than morphine. Bentley, dressed in a white shirt and khaki pants, chose not to address the court today and showed no emotion after District Judge Gregory M. Sleet handed down the sentence, the minimum mandatory under the law. [continues 243 words]
Legislation to decriminalize marijuana possession was reintroduced into Parliament earlier this month, but both friends and foes of the drug are criticizing the bill. The legislation, first introduced in March of 2003, died when Parliament adjourned in November, and spent some time with a special committee before being brought back to the House. Since its last reading, the bill has been amended to reduce penalties and eliminate jail time for those caught with one to three marijuana plants. Robin Ellis is the proprietor of the Friendly Stranger and Cannabis Culture Shop, an activist organization dedicated to changing the laws surrounding cannabis use. He says they're a little frustrated. [continues 328 words]
