Kamloops woman acquitted of firearms, stolen property charges ahead of trial | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kamloops woman acquitted of firearms, stolen property charges ahead of trial

KAMLOOPS - A Kamloops woman charged with eight offences after a police raid of her Sahali home has been acquitted of all charges.

At the commencement of the Supreme Court trial against Jason and Sarah Robertson, Crown prosecutor Evan Goulet told the court he didn’t anticipate calling any evidence against Sarah.

Supreme Court judge Jeanne Watchuk previously granted an application by Sarah Robertson to have evidence against her excluded due to a breach of her Charter rights.

Due to insufficient evidence by the Crown, Sarah was acquitted of all charges.

“I granted Ms. Robertson’s application and excluded the evidence against her,” Watchuk said. “The Crown is calling no evidence, therefore there is no evidence against Ms. Robertson… The charges against you, Ms. Robertson, are therefore dismissed.”

Robertson chose to stay in the Kamloops Supreme Courtroom to support her husband, Jason, who is facing 10 charges in his judge-alone trial.

It’s been more than three years since the Robertsons had their Sahali home raided by police, who seized dozens of firearms, some of which were allegedly stolen, along with brass knuckles, a taser, dozens of electronics and some drug packaging material.

The RCMP had launched a drug trafficking investigation in early 2014 focusing on Jason Robertson. The investigation went into May, when police conducted surveillance and executed search warrants in relation to the investigation.

Jason originally faced more than 30 charges, but the majority of those have been stayed, leaving Jason with a 10-count indictment to be tried on. He’s not facing any charges in connection to drug trafficking, and defence lawyer Micah Rankin wants Watchuk to remember that during trial.

“Mr. Robertson was not seen physically in control of any of the (narcotic) items,” Rankin said. “He must be tried on the charges before the court.”

Police originally said they seized drug paraphernalia from the Robertsons’ home, but Jason isn’t facing any drug charges. His alleged offences include possession of stolen property and unauthorized possession of firearms.

Crown anticipates calling eight police witnesses and one civilian witness. The trial is expected to wrap up on Friday.


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