E. Battagaglia

At the outset of his trial for drug and weapons offences, the accused brought three Charter applications.

He sought a stay of proceedings under s. 7 due to a deleted text message containing a photograph used for identification, which was dismissed as the photograph itself was disclosed and no prejudice was shown.

He also challenged the search of his residence under s. 8, which was dismissed as the Information to Obtain established reasonable and probable grounds.

Finally, he challenged the warrantless search of his cell phones under s. 8.

The court found a serious breach due to police carelessness in failing to confirm the existence of a warrant, and excluded the extracted cell phone data under s. 24(2) of the Charter.

The accused was charged with assault, uttering threats, unlawful confinement, obstructing a peace officer, and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

The Crown's case relied heavily on intercepted telephone calls in which a man threatened and admitted to assaulting a woman, as well as evidence seized during a search warrant.

The court applied the Villaroman test for circumstantial evidence and found the accused guilty of assault, uttering threats, and possession of cocaine found in a desk drawer.

The accused was acquitted of unlawful confinement, obstructing a peace officer, and possession of cocaine found in a Gucci bag.