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KELOWNA - A Penticton Mountie who accepted money from drug dealers in
exchange for police information was jailed for two years Tuesday.
Former Const. Mark Webb, who pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana for the
purposes of trafficking and obstructing justice, asked for house arrest by
way of a conditional sentence.
But Judge Brian Weddell said RCMP officers "face a different
yardstick" than ordinary citizens and imposed the jail term.
"(RCMP) officers are people of integrity and trustworthiness.
When such a person engages in criminal activity, it strikes at the
very fabric of this country," the judge said. "A conditional sentence
is inadequate to express the heinousness of this offence."
Webb's former partner Const. Terry Jacklin said incarceration is
the deterrence Webb needed.
"You trust your life with your fellow officers," he said. "You try to
achieve the same goal. After he leaves the office, the goal is
changed."
Webb's wife tearfully handed him an overnight bag before he
joined the sheriff to go to the courthouse cells.
The couple has a young child. Jacklin said it's "interesting" that
Webb's wife became pregnant soon after his arrest in 1999.
"It may entice the court to be lenient," Jacklin said.
Webb, 32, was a member of the RCMP's plainclothes division in
the summer of 1998 when he took part in a charade with Penticton
drug dealers so he could confiscate 13.5 kilograms of marijuana
and return it later for cash.
He arranged with Norman Melcoski to steal the pot from Ryan
Brown in a gas station parking lot. Brown showed up with three
garbage bags of pot in his car trunk as Melcoski carried a bag of
paper that Brown believed was $90,000 cash.
When Brown popped open his trunk, Webb drove up in an
unmarked police car, flashed his badge and ordered Brown into his
car. He sent Melcoski away before he seized the three bags of pot
and put them in his vehicle. He told Brown he would give him a
break in exchange for information in future and let him go.
Webb stored the pot in his Summerland home and gave it days later
to Shaun Sunduk. Brown, desperate to make amends with his
supplier, unknowingly bought the same pot for more than
$50,000. Sunduk gave Webb $11,000 for his help in the theft,
which he deposited in his bank account and used to pay down a
debt.
Brown later learned of the ripoff and blew the whistle on Webb
when arrested for an unrelated drug offence. The charge was
dropped in exchange for his evidence.
A few months later, Webb tipped off Sunduk that police were
about to raid his marijuana grow operation on Naramata Road.
When officers moved in, they found pot-growing equipment but
no plants, which had been moved out in a hurry.
Police were outraged when they found out Webb had leaked news
of the drug raid.
"We could have been set up," said Jacklin. "He could have put
himself in a position so he wouldn't go in the door. There are
many ways to booby-trap a marijuana grow op."
When Webb later investigated a Crime Stoppers tip that Sunduk
was growing pot at another residence, he cancelled it, suggesting
there was nothing there.
In April 1999, he told Sunduk police were about to use an infrared
gun that traces the heat generated from marijuana grow lights and
suggested turning them off. Police found nothing and Sunduk paid
Webb $1,000.
Like Brown, Sunduk received immunity from prosecution in
exchange for his evidence.
Webb's motive was greed, said Crown counsel Duncan Campbell.
He planned his crimes over a long period, betrayed his fellow
officers and thwarted police efforts to crack down on the growing
number of marijuana operations in Penticton.
Webb apologized to his former colleagues and the court. He has
quit the RCMP and is now making $19,000 a year - a third of his
former salary, said his lawyer David Martin. He's a "kind young
man," but naive, Martin said.
Webb will be incarcerated in a secure facility that will keep him
away from the general prison population.
Newshawk: Herb
Pubdate: January 31, 2001
Source: Penticton Herald
Contact: mike.turner@ok.bc.ca
Address: 101-186 Naniamo Ave. West Penticton, B.C., Canada, V2A 1N4 Fax:
1-250-492-2403
Website: https://www.ok.bc.ca/PH/index.html
Author: Don Plant
exchange for police information was jailed for two years Tuesday.
Former Const. Mark Webb, who pleaded guilty to possessing marijuana for the
purposes of trafficking and obstructing justice, asked for house arrest by
way of a conditional sentence.
But Judge Brian Weddell said RCMP officers "face a different
yardstick" than ordinary citizens and imposed the jail term.
"(RCMP) officers are people of integrity and trustworthiness.
When such a person engages in criminal activity, it strikes at the
very fabric of this country," the judge said. "A conditional sentence
is inadequate to express the heinousness of this offence."
Webb's former partner Const. Terry Jacklin said incarceration is
the deterrence Webb needed.
"You trust your life with your fellow officers," he said. "You try to
achieve the same goal. After he leaves the office, the goal is
changed."
Webb's wife tearfully handed him an overnight bag before he
joined the sheriff to go to the courthouse cells.
The couple has a young child. Jacklin said it's "interesting" that
Webb's wife became pregnant soon after his arrest in 1999.
"It may entice the court to be lenient," Jacklin said.
Webb, 32, was a member of the RCMP's plainclothes division in
the summer of 1998 when he took part in a charade with Penticton
drug dealers so he could confiscate 13.5 kilograms of marijuana
and return it later for cash.
He arranged with Norman Melcoski to steal the pot from Ryan
Brown in a gas station parking lot. Brown showed up with three
garbage bags of pot in his car trunk as Melcoski carried a bag of
paper that Brown believed was $90,000 cash.
When Brown popped open his trunk, Webb drove up in an
unmarked police car, flashed his badge and ordered Brown into his
car. He sent Melcoski away before he seized the three bags of pot
and put them in his vehicle. He told Brown he would give him a
break in exchange for information in future and let him go.
Webb stored the pot in his Summerland home and gave it days later
to Shaun Sunduk. Brown, desperate to make amends with his
supplier, unknowingly bought the same pot for more than
$50,000. Sunduk gave Webb $11,000 for his help in the theft,
which he deposited in his bank account and used to pay down a
debt.
Brown later learned of the ripoff and blew the whistle on Webb
when arrested for an unrelated drug offence. The charge was
dropped in exchange for his evidence.
A few months later, Webb tipped off Sunduk that police were
about to raid his marijuana grow operation on Naramata Road.
When officers moved in, they found pot-growing equipment but
no plants, which had been moved out in a hurry.
Police were outraged when they found out Webb had leaked news
of the drug raid.
"We could have been set up," said Jacklin. "He could have put
himself in a position so he wouldn't go in the door. There are
many ways to booby-trap a marijuana grow op."
When Webb later investigated a Crime Stoppers tip that Sunduk
was growing pot at another residence, he cancelled it, suggesting
there was nothing there.
In April 1999, he told Sunduk police were about to use an infrared
gun that traces the heat generated from marijuana grow lights and
suggested turning them off. Police found nothing and Sunduk paid
Webb $1,000.
Like Brown, Sunduk received immunity from prosecution in
exchange for his evidence.
Webb's motive was greed, said Crown counsel Duncan Campbell.
He planned his crimes over a long period, betrayed his fellow
officers and thwarted police efforts to crack down on the growing
number of marijuana operations in Penticton.
Webb apologized to his former colleagues and the court. He has
quit the RCMP and is now making $19,000 a year - a third of his
former salary, said his lawyer David Martin. He's a "kind young
man," but naive, Martin said.
Webb will be incarcerated in a secure facility that will keep him
away from the general prison population.
Newshawk: Herb
Pubdate: January 31, 2001
Source: Penticton Herald
Contact: mike.turner@ok.bc.ca
Address: 101-186 Naniamo Ave. West Penticton, B.C., Canada, V2A 1N4 Fax:
1-250-492-2403
Website: https://www.ok.bc.ca/PH/index.html
Author: Don Plant
