Police use discretion when deciding whether to lay charges for possession Despite the Liberal government's plan to legalize marijuana possession next July, the drug's possession remains illegal. But while the law is still in place, police officers have discretion not to lay charges, a senior officer with the Calgary Police Service said. Staff Sgt. Mark Hatchette, of the strategic enforcement unit, said officers have and will continue to have leeway when it comes to pot possession. "We don't target (simple possession)," Hatchette said in a recent interview. [continues 437 words]
Laziness, not criminal intent, was likely behind a city police officer's decision to take home seized drugs, a judge ruled Tuesday. Provincial court Judge Jerry LeGrandeur said he had a reasonable doubt Const. Robert Cumming took home marijuana handed over to him by an undercover officer for his own personal use. LeGrandeur said Cumming's conduct in placing the contraband in his garbage bin in the alley behind his house before retrieving it hours later supported the suspended officer's story. [continues 466 words]
Const. Robert Cumming didn't follow police protocol when he took home a seized backpack containing two baggies of marijuana, a senior officer testified Wednesday. Det. Timothy Fitzgibbon said Cumming should have requested a case number after an undercover officer, posing as a concerned citizen, handed him a backpack while he was on patrol. But Fitzgibbon told Crown prosecutor Richard Tchir not only did Cumming not create a new police file, he didn't take notes of receiving the item. "If someone gives you property, you need to have a case number generated," Fitzgibbon said. "No number was ever generated (by Cumming) for that date." [continues 306 words]
Senior keeps dwelling after grow-op bust The Calgary senior busted for keeping a marijuana grow-op in her basement won't lose her home, Alberta's top court has ruled. In a written decision, a three-member Court of Appeal panel said Justice Carolyn Phillips decision to order Heng Kiet Kouch to forfeit her home was based on inadmissible evidence. As a result, the appeal judges said, Kouch, 67, will get to keep the Applewood home where she was growing 128 marijuana plants. [continues 187 words]
The Calgary senior busted for keeping a marijuana grow operation in her basement must forfeit her home, a judge ruled Friday. Justice Carolyn Phillips dismissed claims by Heng Kiet Kouch, 66, that the 128-plant operation for which she was handed a conditional sentence, belonged to former tenants. The senior's home was raided July 14, 2010. Defence counsel Alain Hepner had asked Phillips to deny an application for forfeiture of Kouch's Applewood home by department of justice lawyer Cynthia Hykaway. [continues 142 words]
We all have cherished mementoes. A photo from a family holiday, a child's first school project, or a ticket stub to remind you of a memorable day in your past. We all collect things to remind us of the moments in time we never want to forget. For most, those mementoes are stuffed safely in a box or drawer somewhere in their homes - ready to be brought out at a moment's notice to rekindle happy memories. To strangers, these items would be worthless knickknacks, but for those who possess them, they are invaluable treasures. [continues 550 words]
Despite being nabbed with a wad of drug cash stuffed in his underwear and a backpack full of dope, a Calgary man was spared jail yesterday. Instead, provincial court Judge Cheryl Daniel handed Jordan Adam Yaremus a 12-month conditional sentence, gave him a stern lecture and made him apologize to his crying mother. "It's broken your mom's heart," Daniel said. "Look at your mom ... and tell her what you need to tell her," she told Yaremus, as his mother sat wiping away tears in the courtroom gallery. [continues 252 words]
Court Rules Search Of Accused Drug Dealer's Home Lawful Armed and masked cops who stormed the home of an alleged drug dealer with suspected gang ties did not breach his rights, Alberta's top court ruled yesterday. In a split decision, a three-member Alberta Court of Appeal panel said the way the police conducted the search didn't impact its lawfulness. But in a dissenting opinion, Justice Clifton O'Brien said cops acted unreasonably when they raided Jason Cornell's Marlborough home, taking down his mentally challenged older brother. [continues 300 words]
It caused barely a ripple across the national landscape, but a ruling last week by the Supreme Court significantly impacts the civil liberties of all Canadians. In upholding the conviction of a Calgary drug dealer, our nation's top court ruled it was OK for police to sift through the trash of average citizens looking for investigatory treasures. In their unanimous decision, the seven-member court said Russell Steven Patrick's rights weren't violated when cops went through his garbage, finding the evidence they needed to obtain a search warrant. [continues 559 words]
CALGARY -- Alberta's top court has ruled against medical marijuana crusader Grant Krieger. The Albert Court of Appeal says Mr. Krieger can't "piggyback" on the Charter rights of sick people to have access to medicinal marijuana. The three-judge court rejected submissions by defence lawyer John Hooker that Mr. Krieger should be given a constitutional exemption to Canada's trafficking laws. Mr. Hooker argued that patients to whom Mr. Krieger supplied marijuana were entitled to get it, but the government hadn't created a suitable scheme for them to obtain it. [continues 226 words]
Marijuana crusader Grant Krieger can't "piggy back" on the Charter rights of sick people to have access to medicinal pot, Alberta's top court ruled yesterday. A three-member Alberta Court of Appeal panel rejected submissions by defence lawyer John Hooker that Krieger should be given a constitutional exemption to Canada's trafficking laws. Hooker argued patients to whom Krieger supplied marijuana were entitled to get it, but the government hadn't created a suitable scheme for them to obtain it. [continues 201 words]
It's incredible to what depths people can fall once caught in the addictive grip of crack cocaine. Crimes are committed daily in our city by individuals who might otherwise be productive citizens, all because of the overwhelming draw crack cocaine has on them. The most recent, glaring example of this tragic phenomenon is the case of Shannondoe Best. Best, 47, was sentenced last week to the equivalent of a three-year penitentiary term for a series of despicable crimes. She preyed on people's generosity by posing as a cancer canvasser and spun tales of personal woe to gain the sympathy -- and eventually cash -- of victims who could ill afford to hand out money. [continues 522 words]
Police manhandling of a suspected drug dealer's passenger was not a "terrorist tactic," a judge said yesterday in rejecting a Charter application. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Earl Wilson said the "dynamic takedown" conducted by police in arresting alleged gang member Henry Le Nguyen was lawful. Wilson rejected suggestions by defence lawyer Pat Fagan the conduct of TAC team members who arrested Nguyen and his passenger, Hans Eastgaard, fell into the "realm of police-state terrorism." In written arguments to support Nguyen's Charter application, Fagan compared the arresting officers' conduct to criminal behaviour. [continues 202 words]
Marijuana crusader and medicinal pot user Grant Krieger must serve time behind bars for trafficking in the drug, a judge ruled today. But provincial court Judge William Pepler delayed the start of Krieger's four-month sentence so provincial corrections officials can make arrangements for him to have his dope in jail. Pepler agreed with Crown prosecutor Scott Couper a term of incarceration was warranted, even though Krieger peddled marijuana for altruistic reasons. Krieger, 52, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was convicted last September, of two charges of trafficking cannabis. [continues 270 words]
Growing pot for medical marijuana crusader Grant Krieger won't mean jail for a former Calgary man, a judge ruled yesterday. Justice Beth Hughes agreed with defence lawyer Adriano Iovinelli that jail time wasn't necessary for Mark James Maki's involvement with the Compassion Club. "Mr. Maki's motivation for these offences, while certainly against the law and misguided, were to assist the Compassion Club and it's members," Hughes said. The 577 plants seized in October 2001 and February 2002 had a value of about $600,000 to $800,000, and a loaded sawed-off shotgun was found in Maki's home. Maki, 43, of Coquitlam, B.C., pleaded guilty to two charges of cultivating marijuana and one of careless storage of a firearm. Hughes placed him in on house arrest for a year, followed by a curfew for another 12 months. [end]
Judges can't usurp the role of jurors by instructing them to convict on overwhelming evidence, Canada's top court ruled yesterday in giving pot crusader Grant Krieger a new trial. The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously voted to overturn Krieger's December 2003 trafficking conviction, saying jurors were entitled to vote with their conscience. The court said Queen's Bench Justice Paul Chrumka erred when he told a Calgary jury they had no choice but to find Krieger guilty, after his defence of necessity was dismissed. [continues 244 words]
The device cops use to weed out dope growers doesn't peer into people's personal lives, a police expert said yesterday. Const. Roger Morrison testified digital recording ammeters only measure household electricity use. Morrison told prosecutor Eleanor Funk the equipment, which has helped police find about 400 grow operations, can't detect goings-on inside homes. "Can you tell when someone is sitting in a bath, or a hot tub, or taking a shower?" Funk asked. "No," said Morrison, head of the joint Calgary police and RCMP Southern Alberta Marijuana Investigation Team. [continues 64 words]
High-tech snooping by police is at the centre of a defence challenge to a raid by Calgary cops on a southwest marijuana grow operation. Defence lawyer Charlie Stewart wants Justice Marsha Erb to rule his client's rights were violated when police searched his home after using a digital recording ammeter. The device, which is placed on a transformer outside the home, measures electricity used over several days. Const. Patricia McCallum, who swore information in support of a search warrant on Daniel James Gomboc's home, used the results to help get the warrant. [continues 51 words]
Alberta's booming oil industry helped turn a drug dealer's attention from illicit profit to legitimate gains, his lawyer said yesterday. Defence counsel Ed O'Neill said Matthew John Vancamp is now making so much cash lawfully, he won't be lured back into the easy money of drug dealing. "He's working so hard he's put 10% down on two houses," O'Neill told a Calgary court about his client's successful endeavours in northern Alberta. "He does not need the money, the work is so prolific in Fort McMurray now," O'Neill told Judge Rosemary Nation. [continues 188 words]
City's first pot grower since RCMP killings sentenced The first Calgary-area marijuana grower sentenced since the Mayerthorpe massacre was spared a prison term yesterday. But defence lawyer Elliot Baker defended Judge Terry Semenuk's ruling, noting the judge addressed concerns earlier in the week about comparisons to last week's Mountie killings in which four officers were gunned down while investigating a marijuana grow operation. Semenuk did not mention the murders of the four officers in handing Nguyen Nguyen an 18-month conditional sentence. [continues 240 words]
