A man accused of having a sawed-off shotgun as well as heroin/fentanyl and cocaine for trafficking in Penticton claims police breached his charter rights upon his arrest.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge-alone trial kicked off Monday morning for Warren Taylor Johannesen-Quail, charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possessing a firearm without a licence or registration and occupying a vehicle knowing a firearm is present.
Johannesen-Quail’s trial is expected to run six days, with the bulk of that trial expected to come through a voir dire — a trial within a trial to determine the admissibility of evidence. The voir dire arose out of allegations that the police violated various sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Patterson alleges police had arbitrarily detained Johannesen-Quail, violating section 9; had not promptly advised him of his rights, violating section 10(b); and had no grounds to search him or his vehicle, violating section 8.
The Crown’s first witness, Cpl. Scott Vanevery of the Penticton RCMP’s Targeted Enforcement Unit, told the court that he and Const. Kyle Richmond had attended a townhouse complex at 1458 Penticton Avenue on May 25, 2016. He said unit 173 in that complex had been, at that time, “probably our number one problem residence in Penticton, if not in the region.”
As they drove into one of the complex’s driveways, Vanevery said a vehicle was leaving, and he and Richmond soon recognized the sole occupant as Johannesen-Quail.
The two officers decided to turn around and stop Johannesen-Quail, with both of them believing he was not a qualified driver at the time.
In cross-examination, defence lawyer Michael Patterson pressed Vanevery on what solid evidence he had to base that belief on, including questioning him on how many times he had arrested Johannesen-Quail on driving offences. Vanevery said he did not recall ever making an arrest of that nature with Johannesen-Quail.
He did, however point to “the number of police interactions that Mr. Johannesen-Quail had had with us between 2014 and 2016,” adding he had been backed by Richmond sharing that same belief.
“I can’t pinpoint a specific event that would tell me definitively that he did not have a driver’s licence.”
Vanevery testified that he and Richmond followed Johannesen-Quail onto Penticton Avenue, and then back into a separate driveway in the townhouse complex.
Upon exiting his vehicle, Vanevery said he asked Johannesen-Quail if he had a valid driver’s licence, and that the accused admitted to being a prohibited driver.
Arresting Johannesen-Quail for the driving offence, Vanevery said he then searched the vehicle for ownership documentation, as the vehicle identification number had been covered up. Vanevery also testified it was his belief that the licence plates had not matched the vehicle.
Searching the main compartments of the front of the vehicle and turning up no ownership documents, Vanevery said he opened a camera-sized bag in the front passenger seat. Inside, he said he found a shotgun shell, tape and a small scale similar to those used by drug dealers to weigh out drugs.
Having found the shotgun shell, Vanevery said he notified Richmond and then began a more intensive search of the vehicle. In the trunk, Vanevery said he found a bow and arrow, as well as a duffel bag with, among other things, a sawed off shotgun.
The firearm appeared to be in poor condition, with the butt of the gun wrapped up in tape matching that found in the camera bag in the front of the vehicle.
Upon returning to the detachment, Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth was able to determine that a shotgun shell had been loaded into the weapon.
An officer charged with detailing the exhibits from the search later found a pop can with a false bottom, Vanevery testified, with the bottom containing a suspected heroin/fentanyl mix and cocaine.
Johannesen-Quail’s trial is expected to run the duration of the week, and dip into next week.