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A Provincial Court judge in Prince George dismissed a man’s constitutional challenge of his arrest at a local hotel.
Jamie Hal Hammerstrom, born in 1978, is charged with possession of a firearm contrary to order, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition and wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
Prince George RCMP were called early April 4, 2024 to Grama’s Inn for a complaint about a man and woman entering an empty suite without authorization. When officers arrived, a man tried to flee, but his jacket fell off in a struggle. Police subdued the man, searched the jacket and found a loaded Glock 9 mm handgun.
Hammerstrom’s lawyer, Tony Lagemaat, contested the charges before Judge Cassandra Malfair on constitutional grounds in February. He alleged RCMP officers entered the hotel room without a warrant and did not have reasonable grounds to arrest Hammerstrom.
In a July 4 ruling, Judge Cassandra Malfair found officers did not breach Hammerstrom’s right to not be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.
“The police already have the authority to enter the premises by virtue of the permission extended to them by the property owner and an intruder has no expectation of privacy in a place they occupy unlawfully,” Malfair ruled. “I’m satisfied the police had reasonable and probable grounds to believe Mr. Hammerstrom had broken and entered into room 266 of Grama’s Inn.”
Hammerstrom’s next court date is July 11.
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