The appellant was arrested on a surety warrant that had been rescinded by an administrative judge over a month prior to the arrest, but the rescission was not recorded on CPIC.
A pat-down search incident to arrest and a subsequent strip search yielded cocaine and marijuana.
The trial judge found the arrest lawful and the searches reasonable.
On appeal, the court found the arrest was unlawful because: (1) the surety warrant had been validly rescinded by the administrative judge; (2) the arresting officer lacked reasonable grounds for the arrest; and (3) the police failed to make reasonable inquiries when the appellant informed them the warrant had been dealt with in court.
The court also found the strip search violated section 8 of the Charter.
The evidence was excluded under section 24(2) and verdicts of acquittal were substituted.
