Penticton teen arrested for carrying butcher’s cleaver, bat and hammer

VERNON – A Penticton teen was arrested Monday morning for the possession of weapons, including a butcher’s cleaver and a bat wrapped in electrical tape.

A police officer noticed the teen and a second person walking around downtown Vernon near Safeway shortly after midnight while conducting a routine patrol of the area.

The teen was wearing a heavy winter coat and a white bandana over his chin.

“When the officer spoke to him he appeared to be concealing something in his jacket,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says.

The teen was detained and searched. A small bat wrapped in electrical tape, a butcher’s cleaver, a hunting knife, a small hammer and mace were found on him.

Further investigation revealed the 16-year-old from Penticton  is on a strict 11 p.m. curfew and is forbidden from carrying weapons.

He is set to appear in Vernon court Monday, while the second individual was released without incident.

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