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Crime
Why a break-in couldn’t have happened at a worse time for two single Vernon moms
VERNON - Kris Zacharuk is pushing her son into the arrivals gate of the Kelowna Airport in a wheelchair when her phone rings. It’s been tough lately to keep the phone bills covered, but she has to in case the doctors call about Christopher’s kidney transplant. It’s her 17-year-old daughter calling. The house Zacharuk shares...
Still confused about consent? Judge’s ruling on Coldstream sex assault might help
VERNON - A man has lost his appeal over a sexual assault that happened after a birthday party in Coldstream. According to a Jan. 6, 2016 judgment by Justice Martha Devlin, a group of people spent the evening drinking and going to a nightclub in Vernon in September 2011 to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Later,...
Salmon Arm pawn shop offers reward for stolen stuff
SALMON ARM - The owner of a Shuswap pawn shop is offering a reward for the "losers" who stole stuff from his store during a break in. RCMP have confirmed that Shuswap Pawn was broken into at 7:47 p.m., Jan. 10. Owner Mike Jalving says the thieves damaged display cases and the front door but...
Vernon man handed jail term for child porn offence
VERNON - A Vernon man has been sent to prison after getting caught possessing child pornography. A Vernon provincial court judge sentenced Karl David Lawrence to nine months in jail for the offence, longer than the four to six months requested by Crown counsel during sentencing. Police began investigating Lawrence in March 2014 when suspected...
Vernon man claiming ‘addiction’ to child porn facing jail for possession
VERNON - A Vernon man will be handed a mandatory minimum of three months in jail, and possibly more, after getting caught with child pornography. Police began investigating Karl David Lawrence after an RCMP monitoring tool picked up suspected child pornography activity on his IP address in March 2014, Crown counsel Cristina Cabulea said during...
2015 TOP STORIES: Major crimes across the B.C. Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - This year had no shortage of crime stories, with the RCMP launching several major investigations and the courts wrapping up cases from previous years. Here is a summary of some of the top crime stories of 2015. In August, a man was found dead in Vernon’s Polson Park. Police have kept mum on...
Kelowna Mounties make arrests, take drugs and guns
KELOWNA - Police hauled small amounts of several different drugs, along with guns and ammunition, from a bust on a rented suite in the 200 block of McCurdy Road last week, police said today. Spokesperson Cpl. Joe Duncan said a 'short-term investigation' led to a search warrant where they found: Investigators executed the warrant, located...
Making Block Watch work in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - The Block Watch program is relatively new in the city, but several neighbourhoods have already jumped on board, either to crack down on criminal activity or prevent it. The Sahali Community Association, a group of Lower Sahali residents, is the latest neighbourhood group hoping to take part in the city-wide initiative. Jon Wilson,...
Fewer traffic check stops, drunk driving investigations in North Okanagan a symptom of heavy caseload
VERNON - A heavy case load impacted the Vernon RCMP’s ability to keep up with proactive police work, like traffic checkstops, over the summer. RCMP Superintendent Jim McNamara pointed out a 12.5 per cent rise in criminal code cases, much of it related to property crimes, which jumped 10.9 per cent, during an update on...
Learn more about what restorative justice is from victims of crime
KAMLOOPS - A national week to commemorate the practice of restorative justice is coming up at Thompson Rivers University, which will host a symposium for participants to teach locals more about it. Restorative justice is a healing approach for victims of crime and conflict, and gains accountability from offenders without vengeance. The approach is a...
Man accused in Armstrong woman’s death ordered to stand trial
VERNON - The man accused of killing an Armstrong mother of two has been ordered to stand trial. Logan Scott, 31, of Salmon Arm was charged with manslaughter and theft under $5,000 in August 2014, nine months after Jillian McKinty, 27, was found dead in her Armstrong home. Following a preliminary inquiry this week in...
The 14-year-old Vernon boy charged with murder has been released
VERNON - A 14-year-old Greater Vernon boy charged with murder is out of jail — at least for the time being. The teen, whose identity is protected under the Youth Act, was released on bail Sept. 22. Details such as what the bail is set at, and the conditions of his release, were not made...
Convicted Vernon drug smuggler still trying to smuggle drugs in prison: Warden
VERNON - A Vernon man currently serving time for running a massive drug trafficking operation has been denied a request to be moved into minimum security. Brock Palfrey was sentenced to almost 17 years in prison for trafficking cocaine and ecstasy. He and two co-conspirators, also from the Vernon area, were arrested with $200 million...
Vernon arsonist sent to jail for lighting townhouse on fire while roommate slept
VERNON - A Vernon man who flicked a cigarette onto a bedroom mattress while his roommate was asleep in another room admitted the act was ‘effing stupid.’ Brandon Joshua Milligan Boyce, 20, turned himself in the same day of the townhouse fire on July 17, 2014. The blaze resulted in over $137,000 in damages to...
Guilty verdict for dangerous driver who hit Vernon firefighter with truck
VERNON - A man has been found guilty of hitting a North Okanagan firefighter with his truck. Ian Douglas Burns, 28, was convicted of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in connection with the June 26, 2013 incident this week in Vernon Provincial Court. The victim, Stephan Hidasi, a firefighter with the BX/Swan Lake Fire Department,...