Trial on charges of possession of cocaine and methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking. Search of a drug house. 6-8 people present. Accused was found holding a knife with cocaine on it, and was near a stove where crack cocaine was being cooked. Packaged drugs found in open areas of the home.
Held: Convicted of production of crack cocaine and possession of crack for the purpose of trafficking. Acquitted of all other drug charges.
Regarding the large quantity of drugs found in the home, “control in the context of constructive possession means consent with the power to affect the location of the item”: Nguyen, 2009 ABQB 234. The bulk of the drugs were in a common area of the home “where a drug dealer and addicts mingled … I cannot make an inference that only Arop was linked to these items. As in Nguyen, there are several possible candidates who could be linked to these items.”
L. Chartrand – Defence Counsel