Crime
No appeal for man convicted of assaulting woman, biting her labia
PENTICTON - Brian Douglas Louie will remain behind bars for the completion of a 2.8 year sentence after losing his appeal on Jan. 20. Louie was convicted of aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm for a violent attack on a woman in 2012, during which he bit off a piece of her labia during...
100 horses for sale following Armstrong cruelty investigation
"LET'S SAVE THIS THING AND MAKE IT TURN OUT FOR THE GOOD" ARMSTRONG - Homes are being sought for 100 horses in Armstrong following an animal cruelty investigation. The horses belong to Gary Roberts, 69, who faces two counts of animal cruelty charges stemming from a December 2014 B.C. SPCA investigation. Seventeen of Roberts’ horses...
Animal cruelty charges laid against Armstrong horse owner
ARMSTRONG - An Armstrong man is facing criminal charges after animal cruelty investigators seized 16 emaciated horses from his care. Gary Roberts, 69, is charged with causing unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal and failing to provide necessities for an animal. He also faces one count of uttering threats to cause death or bodily...
Pair of men face charges after spotted wearing balaclavas
VERNON - Police are recommending charges against a pair of men caught with weapons and balaclavas. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says police received a report of two men near Fruit Union Plaza wearing masks and gloves around 10:40 a.m. Jan. 17. Officers found the suspects in the area, no longer wearing balaclavas, and searched them....
Vernon RCMP investigate suspicious fire
VERNON - Police are following up on a suspicious dumpster bin fire. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says it appears someone set cardboard on fire inside a dumpster around 6:45 p.m. Jan. 17 in the 2300 block of 36 Avenue. Several people noticed the fire, but no one saw who started it. There was no damage...
RCMP investigate hit-and-run between Kelowna semi-truck and building
SALMON ARM - Alarms rang at a Salmon Arm service station when the building was struck by a semi-truck Monday night. Several alarms rang at The Great Canadian Oil Change located on the Trans-Canada Highway starting at 9 p.m. Jan. 12, 2015. According to a Salmon Arm RCMP media release, the collision resulted in several...
Mounties respond to ‘unnerving’ report of man carrying Samurai sword in Enderby
ENDERBY - Police arrested an Enderby man for possession of a weapon after a reported incident involving a Samurai sword last Friday. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says police responded to a report of a 39-year-old man yelling at a resident in a Baird Avenue apartment building in Enderby to come out and fight. Police arrived...
Mental health rehabilitation earns drug dealer lesser sentence
KAMLOOPS - A dial-a-dope drug dealer caught in an undercover RCMP operation was handed a one-year probationary sentence on Monday, Jan. 12 for dealing cocaine. Jeremy Machmer, 27, appeared in Kamloops Supreme Court where he pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine. In September 2013, Machmer sold two rocks of the drug for fifty dollars to a...
Photo generates tips in Enderby donation box theft
VERNON - A photo released by police has generated a possible suspect in an Enderby case involving a stolen donation box. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says Mounties might be a step closer to finding out who’s responsible for taking a donation box from the Esso in Enderby. The donations were intended to support the family...
Donations for toddler’s funeral stolen from Enderby gas station
VERNON - Police are hoping the public can help them find someone who stole donations for a three-year-old’s funeral. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says police received a report about the unfortunate incident on Saturday, Jan. 3 at the Esso in Enderby. “The suspect stole the donation box that was to assist the family... with funeral...
Vernon RCMP disrupt ‘potentially dangerous’ drug trafficking operation
VERNON - Mounties have busted a Vernon drug ring with ties to the Lower Mainland. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said two men, Andres Naranjo, 21, and Daniel Penton, 21, both of the Lower Mainland but residing in Vernon, were arrested Dec. 19. Naranjo is facing charges of trafficking cocaine and possession of cocaine and heroin...
Suspect drives stolen car into snowbank
VERNON COP IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME TO CATCH THIEF VERNON - A man well known to police didn’t get far in a stolen vehicle in Vernon early Thursday morning. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says a Kimberley man was on his way back to his hotel from Denny’s around 1:40 a.m. when...
Vernon’s connection to a Lower Mainland gang called the Unknown Soldiers
GANG SETS UP ‘DRUG FRANCHISES’ IN SMALL COMMUNITIES; POLICE BELIEVE VERNON WAS ONE OF THEM VERNON - Mounties believe the alleged drug runner arrested last month in a targeted police investigation is involved with a relatively new gang calling itself the Unknown Soldiers. Sgt. Lindsey Houghton with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia...
Senior pedestrian left unconscious; police seek information
VERNON - Police are looking for more information about a hit and run that left a 69-year-old man unconscious on the side of the road. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said the accident happened Thursday, Jan. 8 just before 9 p.m. at the intersection of Husband Road and Kalamalka Lake Road in Coldstream. “The witness who...
Arrest made in Vernon corner store armed robbery
VERNON - Police arrested a man who allegedly pepper sprayed a corner store employee and made off with cigarettes and cash. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk said officers identified the suspect as a 19-year-old Vernon man and arrested him the afternoon of Jan. 8. The man is expected to appear in court Jan. 9 to answer...