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MITTIMATALIK/POND INLET
It took almost three years, but Larn Lennox of Pond Inlet was vindicated in court last month after a judge ruled a Sept. 5, 2009 search of his house was illegal and triggered by a justice of the peace's frustration over a failed house sale.

"The justice of the peace had participated in an aborted attempt to purchase the accused's residence, and he was angry," Justice Rene Foisy said, according to a transcript of the April 17 judgment. "The justice of the peace should have disqualified himself under the circumstances."

The RCMP raid on Lennox's house happened over the 2009 Labour Day weekend, and was authorized by justice of the peace David Roberts after a tip suggested Lennox had received a large shipment of alcohol on the sealift.

Using the evidence gained by the raid, as Roberts should have not been the one approving it, violated Lennox's rights, under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The charter guarantees evidence gained illegally can not be used against people in Canadian courts.

"The justice of the peace did not know if this information was first-hand or was hearsay and if so, to which degree," Foisy ruled. "It shows a lack of attention to what was important. In other words, it shows sloppiness."

Foisy also said the optics of the situation would make a reasonable person believe there was a bias against Lennox.

As reported in Nunavut News/North at the time, Lennox was charged with keeping liquor for sale. The article quoted RCMP Sgt. Shaun Haubrick, who said Lennox co-operated fully in the bust.

Asserting he acted properly, Lennox questioned the need for police to bring out a box of crowbars and screwdrivers when their search was not yielding the results expected from the tip, he said.

"They ripped out the carpet, and took down the ceiling in my furnace room and hallway, he said. They really trashed the house. They took apart walls. They tore the place upside down."

Lennox admits he had liquor in the house, all of which was seized.

"I had about three boxes of rum, (sized) one step up from the mickey," he said. "They were 750 millilitres or something. I don't know the exact number of bottles. There wasn't a big skid of it."

The search warrant shows police had received several tips that Lennox was offering bottles of liquor and beer for sale, which he denies.

Roberts said he disagrees with Foisy's ruling. He told Nunavut News/North he could not say much as a sitting justice of the peace, however, he confirmed he was never contacted to refute Lennox's version of events, and stands by his actions.

"Part of the JP's role is to protect the public from unreasonable search and seizure," said Roberts, who has been a JP for 15 years. "When the RCMP bring a search warrant, the only thing as a JP you're looking for is, is there credible evidence? There was credible evidence, so I went ahead and authorized the search warrant, and I'd do it again. If there wasn't, then you don't."

Asked about his bid to purchase Lennox's house, Roberts said "there couldn't be a conflict of interest," noting he made an offer but never got an answer, so he moved on. "There was no personal, professional or business relationship between myself and Larn Lennox, and that was misinformation that was never contested, I guess."

If the court considered his actions the result of a conflict of interest, he should be investigated by the chief justice, but that never happened, he said.

At the time of the raid on Lennox's residence, police said they seized more than $10,000 of liquor, but Lennox told Nunavut News/North this week that he paid $1,200 for the rum, which he said was for his personal use.

They also seized about $14,000, his lawyer told the court last month. Foisy ruled that police must return the money, but not the liquor, as Lennox had not applied for its return within three months.

No longer disputing the loss of the liquor, Lennox said police did not count the money they seized in his presence, and that their count was about $500 short of his. The money, which was to pay the sealift company that brought him several company vehicles that week, has not yet been returned, he said.

Lennox was not the only person raided that week. Robert James, who was 73 at the time and has limited mobility, said police also searched his home.

"They served a warrant on (Robert) James, who is in his mid-70s and in a wheelchair," Lennox said. "They had six members go over to his house and there was absolutely nothing."

Both were victims of an RCMP blitz during sealift time, he said.

"Everybody got hit," he said. "If something wasn't right with the permit (allowing alcohol importation), they would send it right to the dump."

Pond Inlet is a restricted community, where alcohol can be brought in if approved by the alcohol committee.

In court April 17, Crown prosecutor Doug Garson said Lennox's case should be dismissed as the evidence gathered from the search was the only evidence against him.

"The charges are dismissed," Foisy said.

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