‘Freeman’ to be sentenced on pot charges
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.99/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/01/2015 (4051 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A “Freeman on the Land” who claimed he was above the law has quickly been convicted of running a marijuana grow operation.
Members of a Winnipeg jury reached their verdict Tuesday almost immediately after starting deliberations. Scott Peters will be sentenced Feb. 18 and remains free on bail.
Peters acted as his own lawyer and argued he was the victim of an unlawful persecution. In his closing argument Monday, he demanded to be allowed to face his accuser in court.
“It says here the Queen versus Scott David Peters. Well where is my accuser? Where is Her Majesty, the Queen? Why isn’t she on the stand?” Peters asked. “There is no case against me.”
The question was one of many posed during a rambling, 100-minute closing argument. Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Dewar repeatedly cautioned Peters to stay on point, but gave him plenty of latitude.
The Crown, meanwhile, took about five minutes to summarize a simple case: Peters was found with 56 marijuana plants in the basement of his North End home by police executing a court-authorized search warrant in 2012.
Growing pot without a licence is illegal. Peters doesn’t have a licence. Therefore, he should be found guilty, the Crown argued.
Peters denied any wrongdoing, despite the mountain of evidence against him.
“No man’s life, liberty or property are safe,” Peters said at one point, quoting Mark Twain. “I have the right to use my property as I see fit. Nobody has the right to question anything.”
Jurors clearly disagreed.
— Mike McIntyre
Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Advertisement Advertise With Us