Charges dismissed in B.C. fentanyl trafficking case: Trooper not super

Two men accused of trafficking fentanyl have had all charges against them dropped after a judge found Vancouver police violated their rights.

Dennis Alexander Halstead and Jason James Heyman were among six charged in 2016 after a seven-month investigation by Vancouver police into the sale and distribution of the deadly opiate by a “sophisticated drug distribution network.”

During the probe, dubbed Project Trooper, police seized almost 24,000 fentanyl pills, 19 kilograms of cocaine, 12.5 kilos of methamphetamine and 228 kilos of a cutting agent called phenacetin. They also seized 12 firearms, $575,000 cash and eight vehicles, four of which had secret compartments.

Both Halstead and Heyman were charged for multiple trafficking and weapons-related offences and were set to go to trial. However, their lawyers argued their clients’ rights had been violated by police related to several searches. They also accused the VPD of improperly obtaining ion swabs and their passport photos.

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Halstead and Heyman argued that their Charter rights were breached because a significant portion of the information to obtain search warrants was missing and that police were unlawful when they searched several homes in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

It was determined that several raided properties, including Halstead’s home on Rochester Street in Coquitlam, Heyman’s Surrey apartment on King George Boulevard and a property on Ewen Street in New Westminster (believed to be a drug stash house) were considered “warrantless searches.”

The Crown, however, argued police acted in good faith and proceeded with a reasonable belief as to the validity of their warrants.

In a B.C. Supreme Court decision posted Tuesday, Justice James Williams said a warrantless search of a personal residence is a serious Charter violation.

“These breaches, considered individually and cumulatively, are of such seriousness and impact that, having regard to all the circumstances, admitting that evidence in the trial proceedings would bring the administration of justice into disrepute,” said Williams.

Williams found that police had violated privacy rights when they swabbed vehicles and homes without a warrant, and improperly obtained Halstead and Heyman’s passport photos.

He noted that as a result of the ruling, the criminal charges will not be adjudicated on their merits.

“That is regrettable; society deserves a better outcome. The offences alleged are serious, involving large-scale, for-profit distribution of controlled substances, including fentanyl and other dangerous drugs, an activity that callously inflicts horrific damage on so many members of the community. As well, the charges include the unlawful possession of weapons; those too are serious.”

However, Williams said when police commit serious breaches in their investigations, considerable harm is done if the courts send the message that “such transgressions count for little, or that they can simply be overlooked.”

According to a 2015 VPD release, police said the crime group was supplying Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with drugs including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl.

The crime group was selling drugs “to marginalized members of the community,” the VPD said. The criminals were also believed to be shipping large quantities of the drugs to Vancouver Island and into Alberta.

— With files from Kim Bolan

ticrawford@postmedia.com

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