MONTREAL - Dany Villanueva has been acquitted on charges of armed robbery.

The case aganist Villanueva and four other men dates to June 2008, two months before Villanueva, his brother Fredy, and two other men got into a deadly struggle with a pair of police officers in a Montreal North park.

Villanueva and his co-defendants were accused of using a fake gun to hold up a man at a street corner in order to steal a gold chain.

On Friday a judge ruled that police violated Villanueva's rights when gathering evidence, leading to his acquittal.


Contradictory testimony

On the night in question, police received a 9-1-1 call saying that three black men and a white man had stabbed an individual, stolen a necklace, then fled in a car.

Several officers rushed to the scene, and two blocks away from the location a pair of officers pulled over a car containing four black men and a white man.

Police searched the car and found evidence that was ruled inadmissable in court.

Officers testifying about the case in court also contradicted each other on several points.

Crown prosecutor Alexandre Arel says it shows the difficulty police face.

"You have to know the rules, you have to know your rights, you have to know the rights of the accused, and you have to act according to that," said Arel.

"You have to be sure that even though it's difficult, even though it's a fast case, it happens fast, you have to make sure you are respecting everyone's rights."


Still facing deportation

Villanueva's next date in court will be for charges of impaired driving and drug possession stemming from an April 2010 arrest.

He is still facing deportation to his native Honduras as the result of a 2006 conviction for armed robbery.

That deportation order came down in April 2010, and Villanueva's appeal was denied in August.

His only hope to remain in Canada is by seeking a judicial review of the deportation order, making an application to Immigration Canada, or getting a risk assessment of Honduras.

Villanueva immigrated to Quebec with his brothers and sisters when he was 12 years old and became a permanent resident. His parents had moved here three years earlier.