Routine Penticton traffic stop reveals sawed-off shotgun

PENTICTON – A routine traffic stop turned up a loaded shotgun in Penticton yesterday.

RCMP say while officers making the traffic stop on King Street yesterday, June 21, the driver of a pickup truck suddenly took off on foot. Police caught up with the suspect a short distance away.

Police were originally alerted to the vehicle because it had the wrong licence plates, according to an RCMP media release. Then officers recognized the 33-year-old driver was under a driving prohibition.

During a search of the pickup, a loaded sawed-off shotgun was found on the front passenger seat, police say.

“This was a routine situation of a traffic violation that quickly turned into a much bigger incident with potential for serious danger to the public and officers responding,” Targeted Enforcement Unit commander Cpl. Scott Vanevery says in the release.

The driver remains in custody and is expected to appear In court this afternoon, June 22.

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