A Victoria man has been acquitted on two charges of setting an electrical booby trap with intent to cause death or bodily harm in June 2011.

In his decision Friday, Victoria provincial court Judge Brian Neal said he believed the electrical wiring device on the front door of Garett Colin Turner’s basement suite was extremely dangerous and built to deliver severe burns or a strong disabling shock to anyone coming in contact with the exterior wires.

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“With the switch on and all components operating, mantrap No. 1 had the capacity to generate up to 12,000 volts of current,” Neal found.

But at the time police entered the suite on Carroll Street, the switch was off and the device was inoperable. The device simply presented the potential for harm, the judge found.

“There was no reasonable possibility of death or bodily harm from mantrap No. 1 in those circumstances,” Neal said. “An analogy to a bear trap is perhaps best. If left unset, a bear trap has no inherent danger to any person. Set, however, it can inflict massive damage indiscriminately.”

The trial heard evidence that Victoria police had received information that Turner was a suspected drug dealer who set up traps in his basement suite to protect himself.

About a year earlier, Turner had been beaten and robbed at his apartment by two people dressed as police officers.

Turner then installed surveillance cameras and built the electrically charged system.

It was designed so he could retreat to his bedroom, flip the switch and activate the system.

On June 15, 2011, police cordoned off the area, evacuated the neighbourhood and asked Turner to come down to the police station on an unrelated matter. Turner was then arrested and asked about the booby traps. He told police there was nothing dangerous and they could only be armed if he was in the house and flipped the switch.

Officers with search warrants found the first mantrap on the front door. They also found a second device, which was disabled, incapable of operation and could not inflict death or bodily harm, Neal said.

“It was at best an incomplete project.”

Neal found Turner, 36, guilty of possession of methamphetamine and possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking.

During the search of his apartment, police found 39.5 grams of crystal meth and 9.6 grams of heroin.

Although Turner, who was a serious drug user at the time, testified that it was his practice to buy his drugs in bulk, Neal did not believe him. Expert evidence estimated the purchase price for the crystal meth was between $2,500 and $7,000. The purchase price for the heroin was estimated at between $2,375 and $3,800.

“Mr. Turner had no plausible explanation for his ability to pay for these drugs,” Neal said.

Defence lawyer Donald McKay asked Neal to order a pre-sentence report. Turner no longer uses drugs and is not involved in a criminal lifestyle, McKay said. And although he stills works as a tinkerer, creating electrical devices and fixing computers, he does it as a legitimate business.

Turner’s sentencing is expected to be held in about two months.

ldickson@timescolonist.com