Drugs
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...
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...
Intoxicated Vernon teen caught with drugs, revolver and bullets
VERNON - A Vernon teenager spent Christmas with RCMP after getting caught with a 375 Magnum revolver and various drugs. It was roughly 9:10 p.m. Dec. 25 and the intoxicated 16-year-old was creating quite a scene in the area of Highway 6 and Pottery Road. “The man was walking in and out of traffic on...
Judge ponders drug sentence in light of rehabilitation effort
PENTICTON - A Penticton man will spend another 10 months behind bars despite his attempts to rehabilitate himself. Penticton Provincial Court Judge Gale Sinclair pondered the dilemma finding a proper sentence for 27-year-old Dwayne Lee Gabriel upon hearing of his rehabilitation efforts following two drug offences which took place in 2012. Federal Crown Prosecutor Ashleigh...
Self harm among Okanagan youth higher than rest of province
OKANAGAN – The results of a province-wide survey on the health of B.C. adolescents shows that young people in the Okanagan are more likely to participate in activities that risk their health than teens in the rest of the province. The study was conducted by the McCreary Centre Society and looked at survey responses from...
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...
The most widely used illegal drug in Kamloops might surprise you
KAMLOOPS – The most widely used illegal drug in Kamloops is a concoction of chemicals from around your house. Crystal meth, one of the most addictive drugs out there, is gaining in popularity in the city. Crystal methamphetamine started to appear around ten years ago, says Ken Salter from Ask Wellness, adding it's been gaining...
RCMP find guns and drugs in Highland Motel room
PENTICTON - Three people were arrested for drugs and possession of weapons on Saturday night at the Highland Motel after police were called to calm down a party. Police first spotted a sawed-off shotgun inside the room. After an investigation of the room, police seized additional weapons, a large quantity of MDMA (Ecstasy), other illicit...
HELSTON: Suspects walk without charges in high profile cases—what’s going on?
Over the course of a week, police let the suspects in two separate, serious incidents walk without charges. The first incident was a shooting in Polson Park Aug. 12. Police said multiple people were involved and several shots were fired. Later that day, one person was arrested in Vernon and three in Kelowna. The next...
Former Kelowna gangster busted in Red Deer
KELOWNA – The arrest of a known gang member from B.C. shows the Red Scorpions are moving into Alberta. Cory James Lesperance, 29, was arrested in Red Deer last week after a long investigation by RCMP and police from several jurisdictions. “The investigation focused on the Red Scorpions drug trafficking operation and their infiltration of...
Another example of the horrors of drug addiction: judge
KELOWNA - An admitted drug addict who brutally attacked another admitted drug addict pled guilty to aggravated assault and has been sentenced to two years in prison. James Andrew Miklik, 37, punched Margitt Laverentz 4 times after he felt she had “shorted” him on a drug deal and wasn’t happy with her response to his...
Bond to serve jail sentence in community for grow op
PENTICTON — A Princeton man will serve a conditional jail sentence for a 'highly-sophisticated' marijuana grow operation he ran on his property for three years. James Bond, 48, pleaded guilty to charges of producing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.In Penticton Provincial court today, Judge Meg Shaw ordered Bond to serve an 18-month conditional jail...
Man found guilty for drug trafficking wants evidence excluded
PENTICTON - Defense counsel made an application for exclusion of evidence used in the trial of a Surrey man found guilty earlier this month of cocaine possession with intent to sell. Graham V. Jordan was found guilty during a trial in Penticton Supreme Court, May 5 and 6 by Justice Selwyn Romilly. Jordan was arrested...
Man involved with drug ring pleads guilty
KAMLOOPS – A local man with ties to an organized cocaine operation pleaded guilty to two drug charges in Kamloops Supreme Court yesterday. Jean-Claude Auger, 38, is one of eight Kamloops men charged after an RCMP sting discovered an organized cocaine dial-a-dope operation. The group operated from February until October of 2012. RCMP uncovered the...
From excessive speeding to drug trafficking
PENTICTON — A Burnaby man was found guilty of cocaine possession with intent to sell, after police found a kilogram of cocaine powder in his car. Graham Jordan was pulled over on Highway 3 between Hedley and Keremeos for excessive speeding in November 2011 and was notified by highway patrol that his car would be...