Driver with four firearm offences had a sawed-off shotgun and stolen plates

VERNON – A sawed-off shotgun was among the items found during a search after police stopped the driver of a pickup truck and discovered the vehicle had stolen plates.

At around 11:20 p.m., Thurs. Oct. 18, Mounties were conducting a check stop in the 4600-block of 27 Avenue. An officer stopped an eastbound, black Dodge Dakota. The plates were reported stolen out of Fort St. John and the 25-year-old driver from Fort St. John was arrested for possession of stolen property.

The officer also detected alcohol on the driver's breath and conducted a roadside breath test. RCMP say the driver failed.

"To add to his problems, he was found to have a criminal code conviction for impaired driving from 2012," RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said in a media release, adding the man was also driving without a valid driver's licence.

Mounties conducted a search of the vehicle and found a sawed-off shotgun and a hunting rifle. The driver then told police he didn't have a Possession and Acquisition Licence.

The vehicle was impounded and the plates seized. Passengers in the truck were allowed to go.

The man was charged with driving without a licence, driving without insurance, and having the wrong plate number. He was served suspension notices and a notice to seek greater punishment because of previous impaired driving offences, and four firearm offences.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.