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Man whose ‘man bag’ was searched in Abbotsford is sentenced on drug charges

Jakob Mosterd was previously convicted of 4 counts of drug possession
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A man has now been sentenced after previously arguing that his drug charges should be tossed out because police in Abbotsford breached his charter rights when they searched his “man bag.” (Photo by Álvaro Serrano on Unsplash)

A man who unsuccessfully argued that his drug charges should be thrown out in court because police in Abbotsford shouldn’t have searched his “man bag” has been sentenced to time served.

Jakob Mosterd, 31, was sentenced April 14 in Abbotsford provincial court. He was initially charged with four counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, but was convicted in December of four lesser counts of possession of a controlled substance.

He was in custody from the time of his arrest in July 2019 to January 2020.

Mosterd previously argued that his charter rights were breached when police searched his bags on July 24, 2019 after they detained him following reports of a home break-in on Emerson Street.

Judge Gregory Brown said in his written ruling on the matter that a witness had seen a man climbing through the back window of a house and letting a second man in the front door. The witness provided their descriptions to police.

Two men matching those descriptions were stopped by police as they were walking in the area.

RELATED: Man loses argument that police in Abbotsford shouldn’t have searched his ‘man bag’

A pat-down search of one of the men turned up no weapons or other illegal items, and he was allowed to go. But the officer who was dealing with Mosterd noticed he was holding his man bag tightly to his body.

A further search on scene turned up pills in a pill bottle and two other bags. In Mosterd’s backpack, the officer located a loaded pellet gun, three iPhones and a Samsung cellphone, Brown said.

He said a more thorough search of Mosterd was conducted at the Abbotsford Police Department and revealed about 20 packages of “possible fentanyl” in his shirt pocket, as well as $475 in cash.

The packages found during the searches were later confirmed to be 7.3 grams of crystal meth, 5.26 grams of fentanyl, .58 grams of heroin/fentanyl, 9.52 grams of cocaine, and pills that included Xanax, Trazodone and Cloneazepam.

Mosterd argued earlier this year that his drug charges should be ruled in court because the searches “went beyond a simple pat-down.”

But Brown said the searches were justified because Mosterd has a criminal history and was behaving in a “nervous or fidgety manner.”

The officer who first searched Mosterd had reason to be cautious, he said.

With the evidence ruled admissible, Mosterd’s trial went ahead, and he testified that the drugs found on him were only for his personal use during a four-day camping trip.

He said he was in a “downward spiral” at the time and used fentanyl, crack, meth and cocaine many times a day.

According to the provincial court database, Mosterd has several prior convictions, including for driving while prohibited, breaching his conditions, possession of stolen property, mischief, drug possession, resisting a peace officer, dealing with an identity document without lawful excuse, fraud and assault.



vhopes@abbynews.com

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Vikki Hopes

About the Author: Vikki Hopes

I have been a journalist for almost 40 years, and have been at the Abbotsford News since 1991.
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