It's in the mail
Freshly poached abalone.
Abalone charge fails
Chad Skelton
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, June 12, 2008
QUEEN CHARLOTTES - A Haida man charged with illegally fishing abalone in Gwaii Haanas National Park has been acquitted after a B.C. judge threw out most of the evidence against him.
In 2005, Gary Russ, a "Haida Watchman" stationed on Lyall Island to protect culturally significant sites, was charged with fishing abalone -- a threatened species -- after Parks Canada warden Richard Lamy opened a package Russ asked him to transport to his wife back in town.
In March, B.C. Provincial Court Judge Herman Seidemann ruled that the abalone Lamy found in the package was inadmissible as evidence because Lamy had no legal authority to search the package. Seidemann found Lamy breached Russ's trust because, much like a postal employee, he was expected to deliver the package unopened. In an earlier ruling, however, Seidemann found that a written confession Russ gave after the seizure was voluntarily given and could be used as evidence.
However, in a ruling on June 3, Seidemann reconsidered and found that Russ's statement was also inadmissible.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
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