Charges stayed in dumpster dispute

Richard Watts
Times Colonist

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A man who billed himself as a filmmaker documenting lives of the homeless walked out of the Victoria Courthouse a free man yesterday.

Charges of break and enter against Andrew Ainsley were stayed after witnesses for the Crown failed to show up. Similar charges against Jason McDonald and Sarah Waddington were also stayed.

Ainsley refused to comment after his court appearance. He and the others were arrested Jan. 20, 2006, at Food Country, 230 Cook St. when police answered a complaint about people foraging in a dumpster.

The arrest was recorded on videotape and a six-minute clip was posted on the Internet. This prompted the police to issue a statement complaining the whole thing looked as though it had been staged.

But Ainsley said the late-night filming was prompted by an encounter with security guards who refused to allow people to scrounge in the garbage bins.

Ainsley said at that time he decided to make a video to show how people are treated when they take food out of a dumpster.

rwatts@tc.canwest.com