Pubdate: Tue, 02 Jun 2015
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2015 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Sunny Dhillon
Page: A6
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

B.C. HOUSE-RAID CASE HIGHLIGHTS SEIZURE WITHOUT CONVICTION

David Johnson had just pulled out of his driveway, his three-year-old 
son in the back seat, when RCMP officers swarmed the vehicle and drew 
their guns.

B.C. Supreme Court heard on Monday that the officers then searched 
the Johnson home at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in Surrey, B.C., 
and Mr. Johnson and his wife were charged with running a marijuana 
grow-op. The Ministry of Children and Families took their son to live 
with his grandparents for about three months.

Criminal charges were later dropped after a judge ruled the alleged 
grow-op was "relatively small" at 267 plants and, at nearly three 
years, the case had taken too long to get to trial.

But five days after the ruling, the RCMP forwarded the file to B.C.'s 
Civil Forfeiture Office - a government agency that has been 
criticized for its aggressive attempts to seize homes, vehicles and 
cash connected to criminal offences, even from people who are not 
convicted or charged. The forfeiture office began proceedings to 
seize $130,000 that was removed from the house during the search.

And so, nearly six years after the raid, the Johnsons were back in 
court on Monday.

"It's very stressful," Mr. Johnson said outside court. "It just doesn't end."

The Civil Forfeiture Office, in its notice of civil claim, accuses 
the couple of using a hydro bypass to steal electricity for the 
marijuana grow-op. It says the search was conducted after a complaint 
from B.C. Hydro to the RCMP. The notice of civil claim also suggests 
Mr. Johnson told a neighbour and the person to whom he later sold the 
house that he had a grow-op.

A lawyer representing the Civil Forfeiture Office declined comment 
outside court. The hearing is scheduled to run for three days and the 
office has not yet had an opportunity to respond.

The Globe and Mail has reported extensively on B.C.'s Civil 
Forfeiture Office. Critics have called the office a cash cow, and it 
has seized millions of dollars more than a similar office in Ontario, 
despite opening three years later.

The court heard on Monday that police conducted the searched on June 
11, 2009. Mr. Johnson and his son had been on their way to Tim 
Hortons when officers moved in. It was 7:30 a.m., and Ms. Johnson, 
believing it must be her husband knocking on the door, answered in her pyjamas.

Lawyers for the couple told the court the search was "invalid" and 
the manner of the search "unreasonable." Matthew Jackson, who is 
representing Mr. Johnson, said the RCMP warrant covered only a search 
for suspected theft of electricity.

Officers removed a portable safe that contained $130,000 in cash.

The couple sold their house shortly after the search and moved to 
another municipality.

Mr. Jackson said the search violated the couple's Charter rights, as 
does the fact that proceedings continue so long after the raid. He 
said the Johnsons still suffer financially and emotionally.

Bibhas Vaze, the lawyer for Ms. Johnson, questioned why the RCMP 
forwarded the report to the Civil Forfeiture Office at all. He 
accused the office's director, Phil Tawtel, of "seeking to do an 
end-run around accountability for police."

Mr. Jackson and Mr. Vaze told the court the allegations involving 
Charter violations should be dealt with first. A finding that the 
couple's rights were violated would mean the forfeiture office's case 
likely would not succeed. The Civil Forfeiture Office usually opposes 
such requests, saying the Charter issues can be debated during the trial.

Outside court, when asked why such a large sum was in the house, Mr. 
Johnson laughed and said, "I don't believe in banks. I've never had a 
bank. I don't trust them." He also said he has never used a computer.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom