PRINCE ALBERT – A woman accused of selling drugs from a homeless shelter in Prince Albert has lost a charter challenge of her arrest and the search that resulted in police finding 99.7 grams of methamphetamine.
On Dec. 8, the trial for Carrie Dawn Bellerose continued in Prince Albert Provincial Court after Judge Steven Schiefner ruled that her rights weren’t violated.
“I found that the information provided by the informants was reliable and compelling (because it was timely, detailed and specific),” said Judge Schiefner in his Nov. 29 written decision. “Finally, I was satisfied that the information from the informants was corroborated at many levels and in many different ways, including Ms. Bellerose’s own conduct on July 7, 2022."
A Charter voir dire had been held to determine if the arrest and search of Bellerose last year violated her charter rights. Bellerose’s lawyer argued that her detention was arbitrary and the search of her person was unreasonable based on only the two confidential informants’ information.
In July 2022, two separate confidential police informants told two different police officers that Bellerose was selling methamphetamine on the street while riding her red mountain bike, according to court documents. Her specific address, the colour of her mountain bike, and what she was wearing while delivering drugs, were provided to police.
Prince Albert Police Service confirmed the address was correct where Bellerose lived, a shelter for women needing help, so they set up surveillance outside the building.
After police had set up their surveillance of Bellerose, they saw her arrive at her building at 4 p.m. About an hour later she left and sat on a bench near the building. She was wearing a green shirt and shorts that was described by the confidential informants. About two minutes later, a taxi pulled up in the adjacent parking lot, and after a brief conversation with the male passenger in the taxi, the man gave Bellerose a chainsaw. The officers testified that they didn’t see Bellerose give anything to the man sitting in the taxi.
Bellerose was seen taking the chainsaw, placing it near a window, then walking into the building. Moments later, the window opened and Bellerose was seen reaching out, grabbing the chainsaw, and bringing it in through the window, court heard.
Not long after putting the chainsaw inside, Bellerose was seen leaving her building and riding her red mountain bike. At this point, police decided to arrest Bellerose for possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking. She was arrested a short distance away at about 5:45 p.m. on July 7, 2022.
When she was arrested, she had a purse that contained a cell phone and wallet with $555 Canadian currency and $20 U. S. cash. No drugs were found at the scene of her arrest.
At the police station, Bellerose was told that a female officer would strip search her before they put her in a cell. In response, Bellerose said, “don’t bother,” reached into her bra and pulled out a bag containing what appeared to be a large quantity of methamphetamine, court heard.
An officer in charge of maintaining the security and continuity of the evidence, took the 99.7 grams of suspected methamphetamine and sent it to the Health Canada lab for testing.
Based on the information from the tips, and after watching the “transaction” of the chainsaw at the building, police had decided to arrest Bellerose. They charged her with possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Bellerose’s trial started on April 25. Three officers from Prince Albert Police Service, and one officer from the RCMP have testified.
One officer testified that he has worked with about 50 confidential informants and the one who provided him information about Bellerose on two occasions, has provided him with information since 2016. He said this person’s information to police has been used three times in the past to obtain warrants. The officer also said the informant provides information for money.
The officer testified that the officers working in the Crime Reduction Units share information about suspected drug dealers with other officers. Through this sharing process, another officer said he had received information from another person, a second confidential informant, that Bellerose was selling drugs on her mountain bike. The officer had searched his police records and learned that Bellerose did live at the address provided by the confidential informant.
On the strength of information from two separate informants to two different police officers, police decided to put her home under surveillance, court heard.
Judge Schiefner said that Bellerose’s arrest was lawful under Canada’s Criminal Code, which allows a police officer to arrest a person without a warrant if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed, or is about to commit, an indictable offence.
He said the officer must have the subjective belief and it must be objectively reasonable, meaning that anyone in the officer’s shoes would have believed that reasonable and probable grounds existed to make the arrest.
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