Michael DeRubeis

The accused was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

He brought a Charter application seeking to exclude evidence seized during a warrantless search of his person and vehicle, arguing that his arrest was unlawful and arbitrary.

The arresting officer relied on a confidential informant's tip, police surveillance, and the accused's criminal record to form reasonable and probable grounds for the arrest.

However, the officer knew or ought to have known that the accused's prior convictions had been overturned on appeal.

The court found that the officer lacked objective reasonable and probable grounds to arrest the accused, rendering the arrest arbitrary under s. 9 of the Charter and the subsequent search unreasonable under s. 8.

Applying the Grant framework, the court concluded that the police misconduct was serious and deliberate, and that admitting the evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

The evidence was excluded under s. 24(2).

The appellant challenged assault convictions on the basis that the verdicts were unreasonable.

The court held that in-court identification evidence from the two victims, standing alone, could not support reasonable convictions.

Although evidence that the attacker was addressed by the first name Perry was capable of providing some confirmation, the Crown led no evidence explaining how the recorded licence plate number led police to the appellant.

The court held it could not fill gaps in the Crown's case and concluded the verdict did not cross the reasonableness threshold.