WARRANT CHALLENGE DELAYS MARIJUANA ACTIVIST'S TRIAL

The trial of a marijuana-legalization activist known as Daweedking was
adjourned Tuesday to give a police officer time to find notes
indicating the reliability of his informants.

The lawyer for Fred Pritchard and his wife Renee Pritchard -- charged
with cultivating marijuana and possession for the purpose of
trafficking marijuana -- is making a constitutional challenge of the
search warrant.

Frank Miller says the information in the warrant suggested 50 to 80
marijuana plants would be found, when only 26 plants were uncovered in
a raid on the Pritchards' home May 6, 2005.

Fred Pritchard used the moniker Daweedking while supplying pot through
his now defunct Marijuana Compassion Club of Windsor.

Miller is seeking proof of the informants' accuracy, implying police
can allege whatever they want in search warrants if they don't have to
back up their claims in court.

"We want to look at the validity of the warrant," Miller
said.

Windsor police Const. Mauro Hernandez did not answer specific
questions regarding his informants to avoid identifying them. He said
one of the informants provided information for a total of five
"successful" search warrants, while the other provided three.

Though Hernandez said the two informants proved reliable, he said that
without checking his notes he could not know if the drugs found always
closely matched what the sources predicted.

Hernandez noted that the raid on the Pritchards' home was successful,
turning up 26 marijuana plants, equipment, some currency, and a
Queensmen motorcycle club vest.

Assistant Crown attorney Nicole Lamphier said police often don't keep
files on informants and that requiring them to provide proof for every
search warrant would be difficult.

"I absolutely refuse to believe that there is not some way that
information can be accessed," Rogin said.