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Crime
Repeat sex offender sent back to jail
PENTICTON - A Keremeos man and repeat sex offender will spend five years in jail after pleading guilty to sexually touching a minor. Helge E. Wilson, 61, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching by a minor after a series of incidents that took place between April and May 2013....
Repeat sex offender sent back to jail
PENTICTON - A Keremeos man and repeat sex offender will spend five years in jail after pleading guilty to sexually touching a minor. Helge E. Wilson, 61, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching by a minor after a series of incidents that took place between April and May 2013....
Shirtless, shoeless suspect nabbed by RCMP in bushes
OSOYOOS – A wanted man who took off when RCMP knocked on his door in Osoyoos Thursday is behind bars. RCMP say the officer went to a home on Gravenstein Drive to arrest Dillan Cote, 20, wanted on outstanding warrants, including possession of stolen property and obstruction in connection with incidents in Penticton and Edmonton....
RCMP report nine break-ins and thefts in five days
PENTICTON - There's been a recent rash of break-ins and thefts over the past week and Mounties believe some may be linked. Police responded to eight break-ins between Friday, Oct. 17 and Monday, Oct. 20. Six of the break-ins happened in apartment building laundry rooms. The unknown suspects broke into and damaged coin-operated laundry machines...
Bobbitt hearing could extend into the new year
PENTICTON - The dangerous offender hearing for David Bobbitt may continue into the new year after a Supreme Court Justice ordered a recall on a witness whose whereabouts are unknown to the court and police. Defence lawyer Jim Pennington applied for the right to further question the witness who testified earlier in the hearing that Bobbitt...
Oregon man sent to Kamloops prison for child porn
PENTICTON - An Oregon man has been added to the sex offender list after he was sentenced today in Penticton for possession of child pornography. Sidney B. Van Valkenburgh, 49, was arrested at the Osoyoos border on Jan. 9, 2014 while driving a commercial truck north to distribute roofing products in Osoyoos. Border officers found...
Kamloops RCMP detachment needs more officers
KAMLOOPS – The local RCMP detachment currently has 112 boots on the ground, eight shy of 120 funded positions. Kamloops RCMP Supt. Brad Mueller told the police committee in a City Hall quarterly meeting Monday morning that while there are some pressures on staff, it’s not out of the ordinary across the province. “We are...
Two panhandlers get off with community service
PENTICTON - Two Penticton men charged for panhandling were each sentenced to an absolute discharge after completing community service. Jordan B. Ricketts and Erwin A. Sedlmeier were both charged with one count of soliciting a person in a vehicle after panhandling at an intersection in Penticton earlier this year. Both men completed 15 hours of...
Sex assault decision now up to the judge
A change PENTICTON – A decision is still pending after crown and defence wrapped up…
Keremeos sex offender to be sentenced in December
PENTICTON - Sexual offender Roy Charles O’Donaghey should learn his fate this December... if he shows up, that is. O’Donaghey was scheduled to be sentenced October 8, 2014 but didn’t show. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he turned himself in to RCMP in Chilliwack a few days later. Instead of keeping him...
Two cars stolen from North Shore home Tuesday night
KAMLOOPS – RCMP officers are following up on a report of two vehicles stolen last night from a North Shore residence. Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Cheryl Bush says officers received a call around 6 a.m. Wednesday. A 2004 black Dodge 2500 and a 2004 grey Grand Prix were stolen from a residence on the 1000 block...
Mayoral candidate says his crimes are in his past
PENTICTON - Mayoral candidate Jukka Laurio says his time spent in jail for sexual offence is in the past and people should focus on what he’s doing now to improve the community. Laurio, who announced he was running for mayor of Penticton last week, has a serious criminal record including drug trafficking and possession conviction...
Keremeos sex offender turns himself in to police
PENTICTON - There is no longer a warrant out for the arrest a Keremeos sex offender who turned himself in to police in Chilliwack, Thursday. Roy Charles O’Donaghey never showed up to his sentencing Wednesday in Penticton Provincial Court, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest. His court case has been scheduled for...
Penticton man keeps long-term offender status, appeal denied
PENTICTON - Wilfred Charles Baptiste will keep his criminal designation as a long-term offender after his appeal to have the designation removed was dismissed. Baptiste did not think he fit the long-term offender criteria and appealed to have the designation removed. The appeal was dismissed by Justice Wilcock in Penticton Supreme Court on Sept. 23,...
Surrey man lands himself a year in jail for drug trafficking
PENTICTON - A Surrey man found guilty of drug trafficking will spend the next year in jail. Graham V. Jordan, 50, was found guilty of drug trafficking charges laid against him after his arrest in November 2011 in Keremeos. Justice Selwyn Romilly sentenced Jordan to one year in prison on Monday in Penticton Supreme Court. Jordan...
RCMP arrest four suspects for drug trafficking and production
SOUTH OKANAGAN - Four people were arrested last week after RCMP found weapons and a significant amount of drugs during a search warrant at an Oliver residence. On October 2, the South Okanagan RCMP Regional Drug Section, Oliver RCMP Penticton Police Dog Service and South Okanagan Traffic Services executed a search warrant at a residence...
Warrant issued for arrest of alleged sex offender
PENTICTON - A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Keremeos man who failed to attend his sentencing at the Penticton courthouse Wednesday afternoon. Roy Charles O’Donaghey faces two charges of exposing genitals to a minor, to which he previously pleaded not guilty. The charges stem from two incidents during the summer of...
Trial date set for three accused of killing Jonathan Bacon
KELOWNA – Three men accused of killing gang leader Jonathan Bacon will face a jury trial in April 2016. Jujhar Khun-Khun, Jason T. McBride and Michael K. Jones are each charged with one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder. Bacon died after he was shot while in his Porsche Cayenne outside the...
RCMP investigate car fire at Boyd Autobody
PENTICTON - Police are investigating two arson cases from a local auto body shop, one which was successful in setting a car on fire. RCMP received a call around 4:40 a.m. Friday from a security guard at Boyd Autobody in Penticton. Someone broke into the shop and started a car fire, which has caused smoke...
Fruit picker who fell to his death identified
SOUTH OKANAGAN - A fruit picker who died following an accident last week has been identified as Gabriel Gendreau-Martineau. Gendreau-Martineau, 23, of St. Agathe, QC, spent his summer working on a farm in Osoyoos. While he had concluded his work there, he tented on the property until he planned to leave on Sept. 26. On...
Suspects in custody after break and enter at fast food restaurant
KAMLOOPS - Police members took two suspects into custody after a break and enter at the North Shore Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on 8 Street. Officers responding to the scene determined the front door was smashed. Suspects accessed the cash register. The male suspects were arrested nearby on Tranquille Road. One is a 25-year-old male...
Penticton police officer at risk of being charged with causing injury
PENTICTON - The fate of a Penticton RCMP officer is in the hands of Crown Counsel after a complaint was filed by a woman who allegedly sustained injuries while in police custody. Chief Civilian Director Richard Rosenthal of the Independent Investigations Office filed the report after a complaint was made by the woman involved in...
Penticton man sentenced to five years in prison for sex assault
PENTICTON - A local man was sentenced today to nearly five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of sexual and aggravated assault. Darren MacDonald, 42, appeared in Penticton Supreme Court via video conference from Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre where he has been in custody since Aug. 11, 2013. He pleaded guilty this...
Raising cash for face-to-face meetings between victims and criminals
VERNON - Sitting down at a table with someone who committed a crime against you, getting answers about why they did it, and talking about what can be done to repair the harm isn’t the conventional ending in the justice system. It’s called restorative justice, and has helped people on both sides of the equation...