No snow on the roof provided a clue that something was going on in an outbuilding on semi-rural property in Black Creek.
It was August 2008, when Comox Valley RCMP were tipped off about a possible indoor marijuana growing operation on the Lory Road property, located off Macaulay Road.
The anonymous tipster told police there was never any snow on the shed during the winter months and there was also a strong odour of fresh marijuana coming from the property.
But it was several months later when Mounties were finally able to investigate, according to court records.
On March 6, 2009, RCMP Const. Ryan Wilton checked out the property and used a forward looking infra red device (commonly known as FLIR) to detect a significant amount of heat escaping from the outbuilding and he also noticed the distinctive aroma of fresh bud.
That led Wilton to obtain a search warrant where 687 pot plants were found in the outbuilding along with 594 plants inside the residence.
As a result, Nolan Ross Wilson was arrested and charged with production of marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Wilson was tried in B.C. Supreme Court and convicted on both counts, in spite of the fact the judge ruled the search of the residence was unreasonable and excluded all the evidence found inside the home.
Last April, Wilson appealed his conviction, contending the search of the outbuilding was also unreasonable. But on May 27, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the convictions and dismissed Wilson’s appeal.
There’s still no word on sentencing for Wilson. Also of note in the case was the statement made by police that there is a “high incidence” of marijuana grow operations in the Black Creek area.