Judge excludes evidence in drug prosecution
Fredericton police search two years ago violated Charter rights of Robert Wayne Waugh, 46, court rules, preventing Crown from using narcotics, cash to prove trafficking charges
A warrantless police search of a vehicle two years ago turned up a drug stash and a bundle of cash, but a judge ruled this week that evidence couldn’t be admitted against a former Millville resident.
Robert Wayne Waugh, 46, formerly of Route 104 in Millville, stood trial earlier this year in Fredericton provincial court on three counts of possession of hard drugs for the purpose of trafficking and one count of possession of the proceeds of crime.
During the trial, Judge Scott Brittain also heard a voir-dire hearing on a defence application to exclude evidence against Waugh, based on a breach of the defendant’s Charter rights.
The judge rendered his decision on that application Monday, with Waugh appearing remotely by video from a custodial facility.
At the outset of the application, the prosecution conceded members of the Fredericton Police Force breached Waugh’s Charter right against unreasonable search and seizure, but it argued the requested exclusion of evidence was too extreme a remedy and not justified in the circumstances.