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 The judge said three of the "prior charges and convictions" mentioned in the application were either withdrawn or dismissed.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." - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl