A Langley man has been cleared of drug trafficking and weapons charges after a ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada.
The court released a decision Friday morning, granting Brendan Paterson’s appeal and acquitting him of nine offences, including possession of illicit drugs.
In 2007, police attended Paterson’s apartment in Walnut Grove after receiving a dropped 911 call. They smelled marijuana and questioned him about it.
Paterson told them he had three roaches inside. The police entered to seize the roaches, and saw a handgun and pills.
They obtained a search warrant and, upon executing it, found drugs and various firearms, including semi-automatics, a revolver, cocaine, meth, bulletproof vest and $30,000 cash.
Police learned Paterson’s girlfriend had called 911 crying, saying she had been injured while she was in his apartment. She was taken away by ambulance before police had arrived.
Paterson was eventually sentenced to four and a half years behind bars.
He later appealed his conviction to the B.C. Court of Appeal, but lost. He had argued that the evidence seized by police as a result of their entry into his home and search of it should not have been used at trial.
