MAN ACQUITTED OF POT CHARGES, BUT LAND SEIZED

A Qualicum Beach homeowner, who was acquitted of charges involving a
marijuana grow-op, has lost his bid to stop the B.C. government from
seizing the rural property.

In January 2009 the RCMP executed a search warrant for the property
on Koskimo Road owned by Christopher Shoquist.

In an outbuilding, police found 396 marijuana plants in varying
stages of growth, a digital scale, high-wattage light bulbs and other
marijuana paraphenalia.

Shoquist was in the building when the police arrived and was charged
with producing a controlled substance and possession of a controlled
substance for the purpose of trafficking. But when the trial opened,
Shoquist challenged the validity of the search warrant after it
became apparent police were trespassing on his land when they made
observations prior to the search. Police made the observations from a
fence they believed was outside the property but that was in fact
inside the property.

A judge found that the warrant was therefore invalid and that the
subsequent search of the outbuilding was a warrantless search and unreasonable.

The evidence seized was held inadmissible and due to the fact that
the Crown had no other evidence, Shoquist was acquitted.