Behind the wheel despite a driving suspension

VERNON – A whiff of liquor, no license and drug paraphernalia resulted in the arrest of a 68-year-old Vernon man last Thursday.

Around  6:35 p.m., a policeman from the North Okanagan Traffic Services noticed a blue 1988 GMC 2500 pickup headed eastbound on 25 Avenue near 41 Street in Vernon. The driver was the only person in the vehicle and was not wearing his seatbelt.

The officer conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle, pulling him over in the parking lot of the Wholesale Club. The man failed to produce his license.

“While our officer was speaking to him he noticed several (empty) drug baggies in the vehicle. The driver was detained, and he was chartered, warned for possession of drugs,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says.

The officer also noticed an odor of liquor on the driver’s breath, though the man refused to give a breath sample. Further investigation revealed that the driver had a driving suspension.

The man was arrested for driving while suspended and refusing to give a breath sample. He may also face trouble for operating a vehicle without an ignition interlock device. He was released on a promise to appear at court at a later date.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.