Hotchen not guilty of possession

Judge finds reasonable doubt despite Crown’s closing arguments

Aaron Hotchen, who was accused of possessing methamphetamine for the purposes of trafficking, has been found not guilty.

Hotchen stood up and applauded from the dock, looking out at his sister and niece who were in attendance, after Judge Sylvia Lori Oishi announced the verdict Wednesday at Medicine Hat Provincial Court.

Hotchen was arrested July 8, 2016, in Bassano, after police found 140 grams of meth hidden in a water bottle in a vehicle he was a passenger in.

The accused took the stand Tuesday and Wednesday, getting into heated exchanges with Crown prosecutor Jeremy Newton under cross-examination.

Oishi reminded him repeatedly to not address Newton personally, at one point telling Hotchen “to show some respect for the Crown and answer his questions.”

Another witness, who was subpoenaed from jail, testified Wednesday the drugs in the truck were his and that he was the vehicle’s co-owner.

Although Oishi didn’t find Hotchen’s testimony credible, calling it “evasive” and “selfserving,” she said she was led to the conclusion there was reasonable doubt based on the other witness’s testimony.

In his closing argument, Newton said the witness’s testimony was inconsistent with his presentation of himself as a “sophisticated, experienced, high-volume drug dealer.”

The witness testified he left half his supply in the truck occupied by Hotchen and the other half in a shed at a friend’s house, which he had the keys to.

Although he wasn’t aware Hotchen was a meth user, he did know the vehicle’s driver was.

Newton argued it doesn’t make sense that a seasoned drug dealer would leave their product in a vehicle they don’t have access to, instead of a shed he had keys to, and was being driven by someone they know is an addict.

Newton also argued the witness has a “propensity for dishonesty,” as demonstrated by his testimony that he first met Hotchen when he arranged to purchase his urine to pass a drug test.

Defence lawyer Marc Crarer called the witness’s testimony “frank” and “clear.”

He knew the quantity of the drug that was in the vehicle, that it was stashed in a purple water bottle and where it was located in the car, all of which Crarer said was consistent with police testimony heard earlier in the trial.

Crarer also said the witness has been sentenced for trafficking, including near the time the offence occurred, so it’s entirely plausible the drugs were his.

The witness “may be a dishonest person, but that is the type of person who would engage in methamphetamine trafficking,” said Oishi.

Throughout the trial, the Crown had played snippets of phone conversations Hotchen had in jail, which Newton said demonstrate he was more than just a meth user.

Crarer acknowledged these recordings do create “some difficulties.”

In one of these recordings, Hotchen accused his driver of being a “rat,” questioning why he was able to leave without being charged.

Crarer said this was a valid question, given that Hotchen was the only person in the vehicle charged.

In another snippet, Hotchen referred to the police taking his “s---.”

While the Crown contended he was using “s---” to refer to his drugs, Crarer argued it was simply a reference to Hotchen’s personal items that were confiscated by police, namely his tablet and phone.

Crarer contended that many of the recordings were Hotchen showing off to women, suggesting he was a “big time player” in the drug trade, when in reality that wasn’t the case.

“Some of these statements made could be seen as boastful,” he said, adding that Hotchen “may be wanting to impress individuals he’s speaking to by exaggerating.”

Still in custody...

Although he was found not guilty of this charge, Hotchen isn’t a free man yet.

He faces an additional two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, as well as possession of proceeds of crime, simple drug possession and several gun charges.

These charges stem from an October 22, 2016, ALERT raid on his rural home near Seven Persons, where police seized 49 grams of meth, small amounts of cocaine, heroin and an unknown white powder, as well as a loaded sawedoff shotgun.

That trial begins Monday.