Doubtful or not, the narrow shoulder bag, as it is often called Man walletMany young people these days wear it on their chests ? Quebec court judges’ tastes in matters of fashion differ markedly, with very real implications for the seizure of firearms.
Judge Nadia Berube has ruled that a Montreal police officer had no right to believe that a young Montrealer was simply carrying such a bag to justify searching his luxury car. A semi-automatic handgun and cocaine were eventually found there. The police officer also cited other suspicious behavior.
“Gucci shoulder bag = weapon on a shiny Porsche Cayenne is not enough,” Judge Berube wrote, excluding the weapon and drugs from evidence against their owner, Paul Goncalves. The decision will also bring to an end the criminal proceedings against him.
However, last spring, Quebec court judge Dennis Kaliatsatos wore one Man wallet That may legitimately raise the suspicion of the police.
“The Man wallets Often used to transport illegal firearms. This reality should not be ignored,” he wrote, which spilled more ink. It’s “coverage par excellence”.
Judge Kaliatsatos specifically cited the testimony of a police officer of the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) who declared that approximately 80% of the weapons seized during his career were found in such a bag.
Evidence rejected
In the Paul Goncalves case, Judge Bérubé did not hear it the same way.
The 33-year-old man raised the suspicion of a police officer while refueling at a gas station in the city center in the early hours of September 25, 2022. According to Sergeant Hamel’s testimony, the thirty-year-old man appeared to be depressed when he saw him. He allegedly secretly passed her shoulder bag to a woman after attracting her attention by tapping her on the passenger seat. The bag was heavier than usual. According to him, these are reasonable grounds for conducting a search.
After calling for reinforcements, police officer Mr. Proceeded to arrest Goncalves. A Polymer 80 semi-automatic pistol and 4 grams of cocaine were found in the glove compartment of the Porsche Cayenne.
However, the police officer’s testimony does not stand up to comparison with a video surveillance tape. According to the judge, the police officer and the suspect passed for only ten seconds, and the police officer’s detailed version is insufficient to hold water.
The inconsistencies between the testimony and the video were “numerous and gross,” according to the judge, who said he had an “unpleasant feeling of having been deceived.”
And in the absence of other clues as stated by the police officer, plainly dressed A Man wallet Justifiable reasons cannot be created, the judge continued.
“The police officer’s instincts were proven, but not sufficient by our legal standards,” Judge Berube wrote.
“The proliferation and trivialization of guns represents a scourge that needs to be curbed,” he added, but citizens should not be “harassed by the police.” Weighing both interests, the magistrate decided he had “no choice” but to exclude the evidence, albeit a subsequent acquittal.
Me Paul Goncalves’ attorney, Alexandre Karel, declined to speak. “I can’t comment,” he said by email.
Crown prosecutor in the file, Mr.e Khalid Alkuima, did not call back Pres.
