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Police
Mountie on trial for dangerous driving in relation to death of Cherryville woman
SALMON ARM - A police officer accused of dangerous driving in connection with the death of a Cherryville woman is now on trial in Salmon Arm Provincial Court. Const. Micah Chan, born in 1977, faces one count of dangerous driving in relation to the June 2013 accident that killed 21-year-old Courtenay Brianne Eggen. The Independent...
UPDATE: RCMP investigate downtown Vernon fatal crash
VERNON – A Kelowna woman is dead and a Vernon woman is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after their car was T-boned by a mini-van in downtown Vernon in the early hours Thursday morning. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the accident happened around 1:15 a.m. at the intersection of 30 Avenue and 32 Street (Highway...
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...
Still no RCMP invoice for Boonstock
PENTICTON - It’s been almost three months since Boonstock weekend and festival organizers still have not received a copy of the RCMP expense report, which outlines additional costs incurred over the four-day festival. Forty officers were scheduled to work the festival weekend and racked up a $200,000 bill paid for by Boonstock. But in September,...
Authorities investigate suspicious fire at Vernon construction site
VERNON - Police and the fire department are investigating a suspected arson at a construction site in Vernon last night. The fire department was dispatched around 9:50 p.m. Oct. 16 to the fire, located in a three-story building under construction in the 2700 block of 41 Avenue. “We caught it early, it could’ve been a...
Body found near Okanagan College in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Mounties are investigating a report of a body found in a parking lot in Kelowna this morning. The body was discovered inside a maroon coloured mini van parked in the staff parking lot behind the Mission View medical building Oct. 17. Police are releasing few details, but say the death does not appear to...
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...
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...
HELSTON: A test for distracted driving
My thumbs play hopscotch on the keyboard, darting from letter to space bar, and as they root around for the exclamation point, I fail to notice a dog bounding onto the road. My focus rears up from the text message but it’s too late. Good thing it’s just an obstacle course and the golden retriever...
Dogs get between cougars and people during two Osoyoos encounters
OSOYOOS - Two people encountering cougars in Osoyoos were fortunate to be with their dogs when the chance meetings occurred. A cougar was spotted near Magnolia Place (Destiny Beach) on Monday, Sept. 29 around 8:30 p.m. The cougar was chased off by a dog who came back injured but with blood on his mouth, according...
Foul play ruled out in death of Vernon teen
VERNON - Foul play has been ruled out in the death of a former Vernon teen who died at a work residence in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. Police initially called 19-year-old Dylan Cordell Hanna’s death suspicious, but an autopsy conducted Sept. 16 has since dispelled any notions foul play was involved. Hanna was found Sept. 14 at...
‘Large sum’ of unclaimed cash could go to good samaritan who found it
ARMSTRONG - No one has claimed a wad of money found in the Armstrong Liquor Store earlier this month, and with each passing day, the good samaritan who turned it in gets closer to cashing out. Video surveillance at the liquor store shows the owner of the cash—a white haired woman in a black top...
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...
A Penticton proposal getting support from unexpected places
PENTICTON - Penticton council has an unexpected supporter for its push to put oversight for large-scale events under the provincial umbrella—the Boonstock Music and Arts festival. All but one member of Penticton's councillors and mayor used the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention this week to lobby provincial government ministers hard to take on the regulatory...
Prolific fraudster at it again
KELOWNA - A man known as a serial scammer is believed to be behind the latest string of reports in Kelowna. Police investigators say it appears a 40-year-old Kelowna man with a long list of convictions appears to be at it again, often using the story of a broken down truck or claiming he's a...
Punched, kicked in the head and left unconscious at a bar
VERNON - A Vernon man was allegedly punched, kicked in the head and left unconscious at a local bar Sunday night and police need help with the investigation. Police are still trying to put the pieces together after the aggravated assault at Monashee’s Bar and Grill. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says officers were dispatched to...
UPDATE: Body of missing Coldstream man found
VERNON - Vernon Search and Rescue located the body of a Coldstream man in the water by the wharf at Kal beach. RCMP divers were called and they recovered the body shortly after 1 p.m. today. The case is now in the hands of the B.C. Coroners Service. An RCMP appeal to the public to...
Boonstock says RCMP accounting is ‘speculation’
PENTICTON - Boonstock organizers say they received a bill from the provincial government three-and-a-half times more than the additional $50,000 RCMP say is owed for extra costs incurred over the festival weekend last month. The Ministry of Justice sent an invoice to Boonstock organizers with a “total owing” of nearly $177,000, and gave them 30...
RCMP say Boonstock needs to reimburse government for additional police costs
PENTICTON - RCMP say Boonstock organizers need to reimburse the provincial government for additional police officers required during the festival weekend, after private security failed to provide adequate resources. The two final days of the festival required additional personnel since RCMP had to shift their focus to security and public safety. A new cost analysis...
Major crime investigations interfere with proactive police work
VERNON - A number of time consuming investigations sucked up RCMP resources this summer and meant other crime in the city went unchecked, says Vernon’s top cop. Superintendent Reg Burgess presented a quarterly report to Vernon City Council Monday and said investigations into the city’s alleged serial arsonist, a shooting in Polson Park, fatal motor...
Accident sends cyclist to hospital
VERNON - A cyclist was taken to hospital after colliding with a truck last Friday. Police were dispatched to the area of 39 Avenue and 32 Street around 7:50 a.m. Sept 5. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the driver of the truck was turning right as the cyclist came up beside him. The 30-year-old cyclist...
Vehicle tumbles down embankment, driver’s neck impaled with stick
VERNON - A local man remains in hospital with a neck wound after crashing his car over an embankment. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says officers were called to the 6000 block of Cosens Bay Road Sunday around 5:40 p.m. for a report of a vehicle over the embankment. “The driver, a 21-year-old Vernon man, was...
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...
Donation jars lifted from Vernon corner store
VERNON - A thief was caught on camera after a botched robbery at a corner store in Vernon last week. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says the crook entered Lakeview Market, located at 1501 32 Avenue, around 5:30 p.m. Friday. The approximately 40-year-old man had a white t-shirt wrapped around his face and yellow gloves on...