B.C. gangster charged for attacking man with a golf club in North Okanagan

VERNON – A convicted drug smuggler and known gangster has been charged after allegedly attacking a camper with a golf club in the North Okanagan last weekend.

Vernon RCMP say in a press release Langley resident Jody Archie York, 43, has been charged with one count of aggravated assault following the alleged incident in the 3900-block of Highway 97 in Monte Lake on Saturday, Aug. 11 at about 8 a.m.

Police say the incident started as a "verbal altercation" but escalated to an assault involving a golf club and a machete.

"The victim, who was in the area camping with friends, was not known to the suspect," Vernon RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Tania Finn says in the release. "Both males were transported to a local area hospital for treatment. The victim sustained a serious injury and remains in hospital."

York is a longtime member of Independent Soldiers gang and a convicted drug smuggler, according to a Vancouver Sun report.

He appeared in Vernon court Monday, Aug. 13, and was released on $2,000 bail, court documents say.

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