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Crime
UPDATE: Jury hears of body’s discovery in Thompson River in 11-year-old murder case
COARSE LANGUAGE, GRAPHIC CONTENT ADVISORY KAMLOOPS – A crime scene investigator told a Kamloops jury he observed open head wounds when he found the decomposing body of a woman in the Thompson River near Indian Point in August 2003. “There were injuries to the skull.... The body was floating and (was) up against the upstream...
Crown will not appeal RCMP officer’s acquittal in jail sex case
KAMLOOPS – A four-year-old case is now closed after B.C.’s Court of Appeal did not receive an application from the Crown office to challenge the acquittal of a police officer originally charged with breach of trust. Winston Sayson with the Surrey Crown office confirmed Monday afternoon that there was no appeal application made within the...
Police seek help in identify attempted robbery suspects
PENTICTON - RCMP are asking the public’s assistance in finding three attempted robbery suspects who tried to steal a man’s wallet Tuesday evening. A 34-year-old male victim was walking alone near the McLaren Arena on Duncan Avenue when three males in a white two-door Honda Civic approached him demanding he turn over his wallet, according...
Store owner wants shoplifters to know they’re being watched
PENTICTON - A downtown shop owner has caught another two thieves robbing his store in the last week by posting surveillance footage on Facebook. Leigh Follestad, owner of SmartShopper on Main Street, has been hit several times, but he wants them to know that if they’re going to steal from him, he will put their face...
Oliver man to serve weekends for assault with a weapon
PENTICTON - An Oliver man who entered a home in Okanagan Falls and beat the residents with a crow bar because of an alleged sexual assault, will spend 90 days in jail every weekend until his 90 days are up. Robert David Delve, born in 1979, pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a...
Forged prescription for painkillers lands accused in jail for one day
PENTICTON - A local man who pleaded guilty to using a forged prescription got off with a one-day jail sentence and never had to leave the Penticton Courthouse. Alexander Milne, 60, was caught on March 3, 2014 trying to get a prescription filled using a forged document. Milne, who suffers from an auto-immune deficiency had...
Police examining relation between stolen vehicles, hit-and-run
TWO VEHICLES STOLEN AND RECOVERED; SUSPECT STILL AT-LARGE KAMLOOPS – Police say two vehicles stolen early Sunday morning are likely related and they are investigating if a hit and run around the same time is also related. Around 1 a.m. RCMP responded to a break-and-enter at a garage on West Victoria Street. The suspect took...
Suspect in custody following bank robbery
KAMLOOPS - RCMP officers have a 23-year-old man in custody after he allegedly robbed Interior Savings Credit Union on Landsdowne Street Friday afternoon. The suspect allegedly approached a bank teller and produced a note demanding money. After obtaining an undisclosed amount of cash, the man fled on foot. Five minutes later he was arrested near...
City and RCMP open to policy changes following jury recommendations
PENTICTON - The City and RCMP are actively considering implementation of recommendations made by a jury following a coroner’s inquest into the death of 30-year-old Steven J. Scott who died in police custody two years ago. The RCMP have already implemented some changes after Scott’s death that the jury also recommended be made. One suggestion...
Vernon child sexual predator gets 4 years in prison
VERNON – A Vernon man who lured girls over the Internet and asked them for nude photos is going to spend the next four years in a federal prison. David Clayton Willerth, 40, was sentenced in Vernon Supreme Court Thursday on 18 counts, including luring children with a computer and arranging a sexual offense against...
Investigation of alleged assault by Penticton police officer dismissed
PENTICTON - No charges will be laid against a police officer who allegedly assaulted a woman while she was in custody. An investigation conducted by the Independent Investigations Office “concluded there is no substantial likelihood that the officer … would be convicted of any offences arising from the circumstances.” In April 2014, an officer was...
ARCHER: The importance of being a jury member
I spent three days this week at the Penticton courthouse sitting in on a coroner’s inquest for the death of a 30-year-old man, Steven Joseph Scott, who died two years ago while in police custody. I had never been to an inquest before and was happily surprised to find the five-person jury and all the...
Jury finds death accidental, makes recommendations
'STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING AN ALCOHOL DETOXIFICATION CENTRE IN THE SOUTH OKANAGAN' PENTICTON - The coroner’s inquest on the death of Steven J. Scott who died two years ago while in police custody has ended with recommendations from a five-person jury on how to improve conditions to avoid a similar incident in the future....
CORONER’S INQUEST: Penticton lacking substance abuse resources and police manpower
PENTICTON - The need for more rehabilitation resources and police manpower were the running themes of this morning’s testimonies made during the coroner’s inquest on the death of Steven J. Scott who died in a cell at the Penticton RCMP detachment two years ago. Patricia Gartner, a social worker at the Penticton Regional Hospital oversaw...
Learn what you can do to prevent crime in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – Local RCMP officers along with members from other crime prevention agencies in the City will host a “meet and greet” event Wednesday afternoon to honour National Crime Prevention Week. Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with members from RCMP auxiliary, Block Watch, Bylaws, the Community Safety Unit, Crime Stoppers, Graffiti Task Force,...
Cause of in-custody death related to alcohol withdrawal: Pathologist
PENTICTON - The cause of death of Steven J. Scott, who died in a cell at the Penticton RCMP detachment two years ago, was determined to be a breathing problem related to alcohol withdrawal. Dr. William R. Currie, a now-retired pathologist at the Penticton Regional Hospital performed the autopsy of Scott, 30, who was found...
Officer may have overlooked dead prisoner in early morning checks
PENTICTON - Video surveilance footage from the holding cell in which Steven J. Scott died two years ago shows he was possibly dead during early-morning checks. The coroner’s inquest for Steven Joseph Scott, a 30-year-old man who died in a Penticton RCMP detachment cell in August 2012 continued today with testimony from the watch commander...
Coroner’s inquest begins for man who died in holding cells
PENTICTON - A B.C. Coroners inquest into the death of a Penticton man who died in RCMP cells two years ago heard this morning the man had diabetes. The inquest, which began Monday at the Penticton law courts before coroner Larry Marzinzik will likely take the remainder of the week. Steven Joseph Scott, 30, died...
Murder victim was a popular employee of Kelowna Flightcraft
KELOWNA - The man killed in what police are calling an unprovoked attack on a city bus last week is being remembered by coworkers as a popular, unique man dedicated to his job. Before he was murdered on a bus on Baron Road last Thursday, Caesar Rosales, 55, was a business systems analyst for Kelowna...
Here’s your second chance to learn about a position with the justice department
OKANAGAN - Three additional orientation sessions have been scheduled for Okanagan residents interested in one of 240 correctional officer positions at the new Okanagan Correctional Centre set to open in Oliver in 2016. The original sessions were well-received and due to high-demand additional sessions have been scheduled throughout November. The first will be held at...
Vandalized cafe may be linked to municipal election
OLIVER - An Oliver cafe owner says he won’t take election signs down, even after his business was vandalized in what appears to be anti-election behaviour. John Micka, owner of Sunshine Cafe in Oliver has to replace his cafe-front window after it was shot at by a pellet gun. The shot left several small holes...
Considering a career in corrections? Here’s your chance to get into the industry
PENTICTON - B.C. Corrections is considering hosting additional information sessions for people interested in a career with the justice system. The Justice Institute and B.C. Corrections received a strong turnout to the orientation sessions held throughout the South Okanagan for anyone interested in becoming a corrections officers at the Okanagan Correctional Centre set to open...
Former teacher pays price for theft
PENTICTON - A former Osoyoos school teacher got a conditional sentence after embezzling $42,000 from the Osoyoos Rural Fire Protection District, the organization for which he was a volunteer secretary treasurer. Michael R. McWhinnie, born in 1946, appeared in Penticton Provincial Court Monday where he was sentenced by Judge Gregory Koturbash to a 12-month conditional...
Body found in abandoned shed
PENTICTON - The body of a deceased male was found in an abandoned shed behind Super Save Gas in Penticton Monday. The shed is located in a field off Green Mountain Road, on Penticton Indian Band land. RCMP say the body appeared to have been there for several days, however the death is not being...