3 COCAINE BRICKS FOUND, BUT CHARGE THROWN OUT

Evidence Against Surrey Man Tossed Because Cops Lacked Search Warrant

A charge of trafficking cocaine was thrown out yesterday against a
Surrey man after a judge ruled the three one-kilogram bricks police
found in his garage were seized illegally.

The Crown closed its case yesterday in New Westminster Supreme Court
and the judge dismissed the charges against Roy Donald McCormack,
said his lawyer, Jeff Ray.

The judge had earlier ruled in a voir dire the evidence of the
cocaine was inadmissible because police didn't have a necessary search warrant.

RCMP arrived at the home around noon on Sept. 18, 2004, after two 911
calls, the first from a neighbour reporting a fight between two men,
one with a gun, the second from McCormack calling for an ambulance
after he'd been stabbed.

The officers found McCormack lying in a pool of blood in the foyer of
his house and searched it for the assailant, gun or stabbing evidence.

Meanwhile, McCormack repeatedly demanded police leave.

Police found no person or weapon but noticed blood trails throughout
the house, one leading to the garage.

After a meeting at RCMP headquarters about whether a warrant was
needed, a number of officers returned without one, again to look for
the gun and evidence linked to the stabbing.

They eventually found the cocaine in the garage and got a search warrant.

The judge ruled the first search was lawful, but said the second
search "did not appear to be motivated by a concern for immediate
officer or public safety" and therefore breached McCormack's
constitutional rights.

Without the cocaine, there was no case. The drugs were destroyed soon
after seizure.

In 1999, based on the same Charter argument of illegal seizure,
McCormack appealed three convictions for possession of cocaine for
the purposes of trafficking and possession of two restricted weapons
he received in 1997. His appeal was dismissed by the B.C. Court of Appeal.