LANDLORDS FELL FOR A GROW-OP DEAL

Tenants Diverted Electricity To Heat And Light Pot Plantation

CHILLIWACK -- Bob and Gaye Preston had arrived to plant foliage around the
duck pond when signs of alterations on their rented country home tipped
them off.

Now these two law-abiding property owners -- having reported their
discovery to Chilliwack RCMP -- bear a $20,000 bill for massive repairs
while the criminal they collared is free, pending sentencing in June.

When the couple visited their three-storey rancher in August 2000 they
found the bottom windows behind a thick plastic membrane. Two Rottweilers
had been assigned to the corridor balcony where they kept vigil over the
valley's snow-capped mountains and all who approached the 1.6-hectare spread.

A lens-eye panned the middle-aged couple as they strolled the grounds.

"It's a grow," Gaye said, turning to her husband. And it was.

Although Chilliwack RCMP needed more than that in order to act.

To score a search warrant for the house occupied by tenant Tony White, they
needed someone who could swear to seeing pot plants inside.

So the Prestons went back to the property and ripped the plastic film from
a window while a surveillance camera dogged their every move.

Nine hundred pot plants in their beds; electrical wires snaking like jungle
vines along the tufts of pink insulation in the ceiling joints, water
pipes, fans and ventilation hoses; the intensity of 1,000-watt hooded
lights and a popular grow blend of peat moss and rich soil ensured sturdy
stock.

Volumes of water and electricity had been diverted from their common
household sources to feed the pot plantation.

Ventilation holes had been punched in the chimney leading to the Prestons'
signature stone fireplaces in the bedroom and living room, too little water
in some parts of the house and too much in others led to sweaty
double-paned windows and a burned-out dishwasher.

The tiled kitchen floor had been turned into a work table for sawing and
hammering bed frames. Carpets had to be replaced, locks changed . . . .

Nothing could have prepared 55-year-old Bob for this grow-op venture in his
own home, not 36 years in court as an official transcriber, not the efforts
at managing a team of court reporters at the downtown Vancouver law courts,
not his current role as co-owner of a thriving reporting company on
Vancouver's Nelson Street.

And he has the good grace to admit it.

"I should have known better," he conceded the other day.

"I'm kind of embarrassed about this. But I was keen to rent the place and I
had no reason to doubt him."

Like scores of other landlords in the Fraser Valley with properties to
rent, Bob saw nothing fishy about the beguiling businessman who signed the
lease on the grounds the stately home fit the bill for he and his wife who
were retiring.

Later, he said his wife had changed her mind but he could vouch for the
nephew who wanted the place.

The Prestons now know why. But the mistake cost them big time: $20,000 to
bring in the electrician, the plumber, the jack of all-trades just to get
back the family home they proudly bought 20 years ago.

"And just because he's engaged in illegal activities in your house doesn't
mean you can kick him out," Bob said.

Indeed, it took a month and $1,800 to enforce an eviction.

Bob says he never submitted an insurance claim because he was left to
believe prosecutors from the federal Deptartment of Justice planned to seek
restitution for him and B.C. Hydro at White's trial on charges of
cultivation, theft and trafficking.

But a lot happens in 18 months. A bargain was struck between the Crown and
defence that saw White plead guilty last week to growing marijuana and
agreeing to Hydro's claim for an estimated $3,000 in restitution. The other
charges were dropped in exchange. As was any plan to go to bat for Bob.

Justice Department lawyer Chris Randall said the criminal courts are not
usually the appropriate forum for sorting out civil disputes, especially if
there is disagreement between the accused lawyer and the landlord as to how
much damage was incurred.

Separating standard tenant damage from that caused by a criminal act can be
tricky, at best.

"It's not our job to go after civil enforcement," Randall said.

"That's not the role of the criminal court judge. The small claims court is
the place for that."

Not that Bob expected to be reimbursed. But court acknowledgement of a debt
owed could enable Bob to garnishee White's wages should he land legitimatework.

So, because Bob and Gaye did their civil duty and reported criminal
activity, they pay out $20,000 in expenses while the culprit

doesn't have to shell out a dime and will likely get a wimpy 12-month
conditional sentence on an electronic bracelet when he appears for
sentencing in June.

So tell me, who can blame a landlord if, instead of going to police, he or
she tries cutting a deal with the grow-op operator on their rental
property: Ante up for damage and vamoose, and no one will be the wiser?