World

Appeal court overturns drug, gun convictions over police mistakes

by Barry ORegan | February 20, 2009 at 05:20 am

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Barry Artiste Op/Ed

Two time convicted Drug Supplier gets his conviction overturned over semantics by a Moronic Judge who despite this guy was convicted of the exact same offence in 1999 and finds this Drug Supplier Innocent on these new charges, because Police mistakenly trespassed on his adjoining property not listed on the search warrant.

Certainly shows what is wrong with our Crime and Punishment Laws when common sense and a minute discrepancy throws out evidence, regardless of the mountain of evidence against this guy!

One wonder if Immigration Canada can pay a visit on his past Criminal conviction in 1999 and show him the errors of his ways as they send him packing back to Asia!

VANCOUVER - A man convicted of cultivating marijuana and possessing a .357 revolver and stun gun has had his convictions overturned on appeal.

Three judges of the B.C. Court of Appeal allowed the appeal of Michael Donald Ling, finding police made serious mistakes while executing a search warrant and gathering evidence.

“In my view, in this case, to admit the evidence gathered pursuant to this warrant would bring the administration of justice into disrepute in the minds of right-thinking citizens. I would exclude the evidence and in the circumstances enter an acquittal on the counts before the court,” Justice Robert Bauman ruled in a judgment released Thursday, with Justices Ian Donald and Carol Huddart in agreement.

Ling, 48, who lived at Christina Lake, was convicted in Grand Forks Provincial Court of cultivating marijuana, possession for the purpose of trafficking, unlawfully possessing a .357 revolver, which is a restricted weapon, and possessing a prohibited weapon, a stun gun.

He was also convicted of improperly storing a 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition found at Ling’s residence.