Pubdate: Thu, 15 Oct 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: S2
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

LAWYER SAYS NEARLY $20,000 SEIZED FROM HOME NOT TIED TO CRIME

RCMP were called to the home in the Fraser Valley community of Hope 
in March. They had received a report of a sudden death and would 
locate the body of Gordon Stewart.

But police would also discover and seize nearly $20,000 in cash - and 
British Columbia's Civil Forfeiture Office says the province should 
get to keep it.

A lawyer opposing the office's claim says the money is not linked to 
crime and should not have been seized. And though the Civil 
Forfeiture Office says police discovered 149 marijuana plants in 
various stages of growth, the response filed by the lawyer says Mr. 
Stewart had a valid licence to grow for medical purposes.

The Globe and Mail has reported extensively on 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 crimes, even from people who are not convicted or charged. The 
office was introduced as a way to fight organized crime, but has come 
to have a far broader reach. Critics have questioned some of the 
cases it takes on, calling it a cash cow.

B.C. Justice Minister Suzanne Anton has repeatedly defended the 
office, saying it only pursues cases in the public interest.

The director of civil forfeiture, in the office's notice of civil 
claim, says Hope RCMP seized $19,770 on March 14. The notice of civil 
claim says a money counter was also seized.

It alleges "all or part of the money" and the counter were "derived 
directly or indirectly from unlawful activity, including possession, 
trafficking and production of controlled substances."

The notice of civil claim says the money was found in a cloth bag and 
police also discovered 34 Ziploc bags of marijuana bud.

"Mr. Stewart either directly participated in the selling of the 
controlled substances or obtained the money directly or indirectly 
from the sellers or purchasers of the controlled substances," the 
court document says.

It alleges Mr. Stewart intended to use the money to buy controlled 
substances and would have bought the money counter with illicit proceeds.

None of the allegations in the civil case have been proven.

The office filed the case against "the owners and all others 
interested in the money and/or the money counter, in particular, the 
estate of Gordon Todd Stewart, deceased."

Lawyer Martin Finch, who filed the response, would not confirm if he 
was working for Mr. Stewart's family or someone else.

In the response to the civil claim, Mr. Finch wrote the marijuana 
located on the property was produced in compliance with the 
marijuana-for-medical-purposes regulations or the marijuana 
medical-access regulations.

"The deceased had, on the date of his death, a valid licence for the 
production of marijuana on the property for his personal use," the 
response says. It says Mr. Stewart did not commit an unlawful act. 
The response was filed last month, and the notice of civil claim was 
filed in August.

An online death notice for Mr. Stewart says he died at the age of 37. 
It does not disclose the cause.

The notice says Mr. Stewart was an outstanding minor hockey league 
goalie and loved baseball and football. However, it says a car 
accident in 1997 left him a paraplegic.

It says Mr. Stewart was lovingly remembered by his family, including 
his mother, stepfather, brother, son and two stepdaughters.

RCMP Corporal Mike Rail, spokesman for the Upper Fraser Valley 
Regional Detachment, said he could not provide information on the 
case due to the civil-forfeiture suit.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom