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Vernon Rcmp

Suspects take two guns during terrifying home invasion

VERNON - RCMP are asking for public assistance to help them find several suspects who forced their way into a Vernon home to steal guns from a safe at The Strand Lakeside Resort. The resort is located along Okanagan Landing Road near Okanagan Landing Elementary School. The 34-year-old victim of the home invasion was restrained,...

Speeding driver plays chicken with Vernon cop

VERNON – The hunt is on for a driver who tried to play chicken with a Vernon RCMP cruiser early this morning. At around 3:35 a.m., Monday, March 2, an officer tried to pull over a Honda in the area of 29 Street and 39 Avenue near the Civic Arena, according to RCMP spokesperson Gord...

Vernon RCMP issue warning after rash of thefts from vehicles

VERNON - A rash of thefts from vehicles has police asking the public to take precautions.  In the last week alone, there were over 20 thefts from vehicles, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. “The Vernon North Okanagan Detachment would like to remind people not to leave items in plain view in your vehicles,” Molendyk says....

A fraudulent credit card, $400 worth of meat, and an off-duty cop

VERNON - A pair of people trying to buy hundreds of dollars worth of meat on Valentine’s Day attracted the attention of an off-duty officer. The individuals, a 31-year-old man from Penticton and a 32-year-old woman, were trying to pay for approximately $400 worth of meat from M&M Meats on Saturday, but the man was...

Salmon Arm man struck with metal pipe during bizarre altercation

POLICE APPEALING TO PUBLIC FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SUSPECTS VERNON - Mounties say a Salmon Arm man was attacked through his car window last week while stopped at an intersection. The unusual assault occurred last Wednesday, Feb. 11, around 9:15 p.m. in front of the Green Valley Motel on 25 Avenue. A 26-year-old Salmon Arm man...

Vernon RCMP looking for person of interest after elderly man assaulted

VERNON - Police are appealing to the public for information after an elderly man was allegedly assaulted Thursday afternoon. According to a Vernon RCMP media release, the 83-year-old man was walking along the sidewalk between Coldstream Avenue and 30 Avenue on 34 Street just before 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12. He spoke to a man...

Vernon’s top cop stepping into retirement

VERNON - Vernon’s top cop is retiring. Supt. Reg Burgess made the announcement in front of Vernon City Council Tuesday afternoon.   “I think he did really well. In recent years, we were doing better than the national average in terms of addressing crime,” Coun. Juliette Cunningham says. “It was great working with him.” Burgess...

Family pleads for witnesses after father backed over by a car

“HE WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME” VERNON - Andrew Raab walked the same route to the Upper Room Mission for lunch every single day, not because he couldn’t afford food—he paid for all his meals—but because he liked the company. “He didn’t like being alone, he liked being out in the...

Vernon man facing 17 charges following inter-agency investigation

VERNON - A Vernon man is facing 17 criminal charges following a police investigation that began with a shipment of heroin landing at the Vancouver International Airport. Canada Border Services air cargo officers intercepted a large quantity of heroin originating from Thailand Jan. 8 at the Vancouver Airport, according to a release issued by the...

Death threat lands man in Vernon court

VERNON – A young Vernon man accused of making death threats with a knife has appeared in court and will be back before a judge later this month. Brandon Dewayne Cottrell, 18, is charged with uttering threats and possession of weapon for a dangerous purpose. RCMP were called to a home in the 3400-block of...

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...

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....

Man arrested for break and enter also wanted in Alberta

VERNON - Mounties arrested one of two men a witness said broke into a new townhouse construction site overnight, Jan. 16, 2015. RCMP received the report at roughly 3:30 a.m., according to a media release. The caller told police two men wearing hoodies partly covering their faces came to the scene in a silver pickup...

Pedestrian struck downtown in Vernon

VERNON - A pedestrian sustained a serious injury after being hit by a car downtown in Vernon around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. The incident happened on 27 Avenue near the Upper Room Mission when a vehicle reversing out of a driveway backed over a male pedestrian in his 80s.  “He sustained a broken hip which is...

Man hurls stuff at police from behind broken furniture barricade

VERNON - Mounties were dodging household items rather than bullets when a man barricaded himself behind a pile of broken furniture during a standoff with police Monday night. Vernon RCMP were called to 3901-21 Avenue at 10:15 p.m. Jan. 12, 2015 because a man was allegedly destroying the downstairs basement. A woman spoke to officers...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

Employee stares down gun barrel during gas bar robbery

VERNON - A witness at the Safeway Gas Bar on 32 Street told Mounties the business was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday night. The incident happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. January 6 at the gas bar located at 4300-32 Street in Vernon, according to an RCMP media release. The witness told police the suspect went inside...

Excessive speeding has spiked 300 per cent in the North Okanagan

VERNON - As we ring in the New Year, the message from Vernon RCMP is keep the roads safer in 2015. Traffic Services impounded 78 vehicles for excessive speeding in 2014, up 300 per cent from 25 in 2013. “They (Traffic Services) just shake their head,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. The need for decreasing...

Vernon RCMP need help finding an armed bank robbery suspect

VERNON - Mounties continue to investigate a bank robbery that happened at the Interior Savings Credit Union December 9 but so far haven't been able to make an arrest. According to an RCMP media release, there have been several leads from the public about the 25- to 35-year-old suspect and they're again asking the public...