Pubdate: Fri, 05 Sep 2003
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.fyiedmonton.com/htdocs/edmsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Keith Bradford, Edmonton Sun
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

OFFICER DECEIVED JP, RULES JUDGE

A provincial court judge has slammed an Edmonton police constable - the son 
of police Chief Bob Wasylyshen - for wilfully deceiving a justice of the 
peace in order to obtain a search warrant.

In a written judgment, Judge Leo Wenden ruled that evidence found in the 
search - including up to $36,000 of marijuana, hashish worth $9,500 and 
drug paraphernalia - is inadmissible.

Wenden admitted the ruling may bring an end to a trafficking case based on 
the findings, but the way Const. Mike Wasylyshen drafted a warrant 
application form was so "destructive" of the process it invalidated the 
search warrant.

"To admit the evidence in such circumstances is to condone conduct by the 
police that is indifferent, careless and, in some instances, deliberately 
misleading," wrote Wenden.

Const. Wasylyshen met an informant at 11:15 p.m. on July 31, 2002, and was 
told large quantities of marijuana and hashish were being stored for sale 
in a south-side house. Wasylyshen completed a drive-by of the house and 
then drafted an Information to Obtain (ITO) warrant form.

In the application, Wasylyshen - at the time a four-year EPS member - said 
the informant had proven to be reliable "on at least three prior occasions."

He also said that the accused had prior charges and convictions for 
trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of an illegal narcotic.

But Wenden said when Wasylyshen testified in court, he could only remember 
one occasion when the informant's information yielded results.

"His approach to the verification of the informant's reliability is a 
carelessness bordering on indifference," said Wenden.

The judge said three of the "prior charges and convictions" mentioned in 
the application were either withdrawn or dismissed. And no mention was made 
of the years they were entered, despite the fact they range from 1986 to 1991.

"Having listened to Const. Wasylyshen testify and after reviewing the 
transcript on this point, I conclude that the manner in which the accused's 
record was set out was wilful, with one objective in mind," said Wenden. 
"That was to deceive the justice of the peace into believing that the 
accused (sic) involvement in the drug world was ongoing and current."
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