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Glynn Brothen
Homeless in Kamloops need blankets
KAMLOOPS – When Barbara Lundstrom heard there were 77 people tallied in the 2014 homeless count, she knew she had to do something — especially when her idea about what to do woke her up at 4:30 a.m. “I phoned my daughter,” Lundstrom says with a laugh. “She told me to phone her back in...
Firefighters turning up the heat on calendar sales for the holidays
KAMLOOPS - Kamloops Firefighters Charitable Society has met nearly half of its goal for calendar sales and the plan is to increase sale opportunities before the holidays. "We've sold roughly 900 calendars and made over $18,000," firefighter and 'Mr. February' Chris Davies says adding the goal is to sell 2,000 calendars. One-hundred per cent of...
Homeless man’s tent goes up in flames on North Shore
KAMLOOPS – Firefighters quickly knocked down a tent fire on the beach behind the Riverside Gardens apartment building on the North Shore. One Kamloops Fire Rescue fire truck responded to the incident. Assistant Chief Steve Kilmartin says no one was hurt. Kilmore says a witness at the scene said the tent, which was engulfed in...
Name of deceased inmate released
KAMLOOPS - The B.C. Coroners Service has released the name of a 20-year-old Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre inmate found dead in his cell during a morning check November 10. He was Dylan Levi Judd, originally from Ontario. Judd was found unresponsive and was pronounced deceased at the scene. The investigation into Judd's death is ongoing....
Faulty alarm leads to high school evacuation
KAMLOOPS - Students at South Kamloops Secondary were evacuated around 11 a.m. this morning due to a faulty fire alarm. "It was faulty pull station," Assistant Chief Steve Kilmartin said adding no one pulled the alarm. "the electrician already fixed it." To get out of the cold, students were transferred to a separate building. To...
There’s still time to make bail in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - There's still time to bail out those who are fundraising for the United Way Thompson Nicola Cariboo in Kamloops. Several community players, after being arrested by RCMP members earlier today, are currently being held at a makeshift jail at the Tournament Capital Centre at Thompson Rivers University while they wait for someone to...
Prosecutor questions accused on two different testimonies
KAMLOOPS – The pressure continued in a Kamloops Supreme Courtroom Wednesday afternoon as a Crown prosecutor suggested a man accused of second-degree murder lied to a jury in 2009. Robert Donald Balbar told the court earlier he killed his girlfriend Heather Hamill out of self-defence when she threatened him and his son with a machete...
Retired teacher charged with possession of child pornography to stand trial next year
KAMLOOPS – The trial for a retired special education teacher charged with possession of child pornography won’t take place until next year. Jerry Waselenkoff was scheduled for a preliminary hearing by Provincial Court Judge this week. On Tuesday, he elected to be tried by a Supreme Court judge alone. He has pleaded not guilty to...
Kamloops actor credited on Anthony Hopkins film
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Kamloops residents can expect to see a familiar face in the latest Hollywood picture filming in the Okanagan. Local actor Dennis Cound garnered a small credit as the “sleepy man” in Go With Me – a suspense movie being filmed in Vernon and Enderby among other locations. Anthony Hopkins and Julia Stiles are...
“Do you have any idea how much blood there was?”
PROSECUTOR QUESTIONS MAN ON TRIAL FOR MURDER KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops jury watched today as a prosecutor aggressively cross-examined a man who said he bludgeoned his girlfriend to death in self defence. In Kamloops Supreme Court on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Iain Currie asked question after question, often repeating himself and taking Robert Donald Balbar through...
Accused in home invasion released on bail
KAMLOOPS – One of the accused charged in a North Shore home invasion was released on bail Monday afternoon. Kamloops Provincial Court Judge Len Marchand released Jason Joseph Robertson on a $100,000 bail on the conditions that he not contact any resident of the home and be available to his probation officer. Robertson and Steven...
Accused in murder case said he embellished confession to impress crime boss; acted in self-defense
KAMLOOPS – The man who confessed to an undercover officer posing as a crime boss said he embellished some of his facts to convince him he was was a trustworthy employee of a false criminal organization. Robert Donald Balbar is on trial for the second-degree murder of his girlfriend Heather Hamill. After Crown wrapped its...
Pathologist describes victim’s fatal head wounds
KAMLOOPS – Autopsy photos of at least nine blows to a murder victim's head were presented by a forensic pathologist in Kamloops Supreme Court Friday. Robert Donald Balbar is charged with the second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend Heather Hamill. Earlier in the trial, court heard Balbar’s video recorded confession when he told...
Joint effort to aid mental health clients continues in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – The mental health crisis program, a joint service from the Kamloops RCMP and Interior Health Authority, has been renewed for the next four years. After being deemed a priority, Car 40 received an additional officer to its evening watch to respond to emergency calls from those who may be having a mental health...
Catholic schools closed in Kamloops Friday
KAMLOOPS - St. Ann's Academy and Our Lady of Perpetual Help catholic schools will be closed Friday in memorium of a deceased music teacher. Robert Petersen died in hospital after a vehicle turned in front of his bicycle last Saturday. At 11 a.m. family, friends and students of Petersen's will attend his funeral mass Friday...
Charges laid in Kamloops home invasion
KAMLOOPS - Two suspects have been charged with break and enter and forcible confinement in connection to a home invasion in Kamloops in March. Steven John Insua and Jason Joseph Robertson made an appearance in Kamloops court Thursday morning. The two men are accused of holding the people living in the home in the 700 block...
Witness describes the cooler believed to hold victim’s remains
"THE KITCHEN DIDN'T MATCH THE REST OF THE APARTMENT IN TERMS OF APPEARANCE" KAMLOOPS – A clean kitchen next to a living room that was in “complete and utter disarray” is how a former cop described the accused’s apartment to a Kamloops Supreme Court jury Thursday morning. Connie Buckle, then a constable fresh out of...
Undercover officers convinced accused he was joining a gang
KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops Supreme Court jury was privy to details of elaborate and costly business dealings between undercover RCMP officers posing as criminals, trying to ensnare a murder suspect in a three-month-long Mr. Big sting. Robert Donald Balbar is charged with second-degree murder in the 2003 death of his girlfriend Heather Hamill. Court viewed...
Pedestrian hit while crossing the street downtown
KAMLOOPS - A female pedestrian was struck by a male driver while she was crossing 3 Avenue and Columbia in the crosswalk around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. The 74-year-old male driver was turning left when the 43-year-old woman was struck according to an RCMP press release. The woman was taken to Royal Inland Hospital across...
Undercover officer questioned suspect on criminal activity before introduction to crime boss
"I KNOW YOU KILLED HER" GRAPHIC LANGUAGE/SUBJECT MATTER KAMLOOPS – A jury heard recorded discussions between an undercover police officer posing as a criminal, who encouraged a murder suspect to speak to his fake crime boss about the murder of his girlfriend in Supreme Court Tuesday afternoon. The target was Robert Donald Balbar, who is...
Witness in murder trial drove accused and a cooler to the river
"I NEVER LOOKED INSIDE THE COOLER AND I NEVER ASKED" KAMLOOPS – The latest witness in a murder trial told the jury Monday afternoon the man charged with second-degree murder was sketchy, anxious and not very talkative when he drove him and a five-foot-long cooler to an unmarked road near the Halston Bridge sometime in...
Inmate found dead during morning checks at Kamloops prison
KAMLOOPS - B.C. Coroner investigators are following up on the death of an inmate at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre which occurred last Monday, November 10. "It's still very preliminary," spokesperson for the B.C. Coroners Service, Barb McLintock said. The male was found deceased when staff conducted a morning cell check. More to come. To contact...
Name of deceased cyclist confirmed
KAMLOOPS - Sources have confirmed with InfoNews Monday morning the cyclist who died in hospital after hitting a vehicle on Springhill Drive Saturday afternoon was Robert Petersen. Petersen was a music teacher at St. Ann's Academy and at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic school. Around 3 p.m. he struck a southbound Ford Escape that...
Machete entered in evidence in murder trial
KAMLOOPS – The jury in a the second-degree murder trial of a Kamloops man inspected an 18-inch long machete entered in evidence in Kamloops Supreme Court Friday morning. The blade was found by retired Sgt. Steven Gehl, who investigated the forensic evidence in the death of Heather Hamill in 2003. Robert Donald Balbar is accused...