Detective Margetson

The applicant, charged with drug trafficking, brought a section 8 Charter application to exclude evidence seized pursuant to a search warrant.

The applicant argued that the police fabricated the existence of a confidential informant or the information provided, and that the information was absurd and uncorroborated.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the information provided by the confidential informant was compelling, credible, and strongly corroborated by police investigation, providing a sufficient basis for the issuing judge to grant the warrant.

The offender was found guilty of possession of crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

The Crown sought a sentence of two and a half years' incarceration, while the defence sought a conditional sentence.

The court considered the offender's mental illness, lack of prior drug record, and the delay in bringing the matter to trial.

The court imposed a conditional sentence of two years less a day, followed by one year of probation, along with a ten-year weapons prohibition.