Submitted by G.D. Simpson
June 18
A Blackpool woman called the Clearwater RCMP at 3:24 a.m. to report a suspicious male. The male had tried to check into the Clearwater Lodge but the complainant had rejected him due to him having no identification. The male walked over to the parking lot located across Highway 5 and was rummaging around in a car that the complainant thought was being broken into.
Const.. Klassen was dispatched and attended the scene. The suspicious male had just been released from prison in Nanaimo and was headed to Alberta with his sister, who was not on scene. He was detained, and then arrested.
The vehicle had an Alberta licence plate, which was the wrong plate, and registered to the male’s mother. The vehicle didn’t have any insurance and wasn’t registered, but was left in the parking lot for the male to get insurance on during business hours.
Although the male didn’t have identification, he was easily identifiable by his neck tattoo. His mother’s Alberta licence plate was seized and the investigation is on-going.
Later, at 9:00 p.m., Const.. Klassen was at the 900 block of Old North Thompson Hwy in Blackpool, B.C., conducting a road check when he observed a red 1989 GMC Sierra pickup approaching from the south.
Prior to the road check, it stopped and then reversed at a high rate of speed, causing the rear tires to break free and lose traction. The vehicle then turned into an address in the 1100 block of Old North Thompson Hwy.
Const.. Klassen conducted a traffic stop at that location and determined that the vehicle was owned by a 49-year-old Blackpool female and being driven by her 51-year-old husband. He was served a 7-day impound for the stunting offence, a violation ticket for driving without consideration and a traffic notice and order to immediately remove the vehicle from the roadway as the ignition not functioning properly, as it starts with no key.
A local towing company attended for the vehicle. Const.. Klassen then returned to the scene and obtained a measurement of the rubber mark on the pavement, which was 50 meters long. Documentation was faxed to motor vehicle branch.
June 20
At 3:18 p.m., Const.. Lockwood received a text from Const.. Klassen of a B.C. plate number and stated that the driver, a 55-year-old local man, appeared to be impaired as he was almost hit by a semi truck. At 3:22 p.m., Clearwater RCMP received a call from a witness reporting a motor vehicle collision in the local coffee shop drive thru involving the same vehicle reported above.
Const.. Lockwood attended and located the 55-year-old male as the driver of a 2008 grey Ford pickup, which is B.C. registered to a local company. The other vehicle involved was owned and driven by a 55-year-old White Rock, B.C., woman.
She stated she was rear-ended twice in the drive thru, resulting in the bicycle on the rear of her vehicle to be bent, as well as the bicycle carrier. A standardized field sobriety test demand was read to the suspect male driver resulting in a fail, who was then arrested by a member of the BC Highway Patrol for impaired driving. The officer completed a drug recognition expert evaluation upon the suspect male driver.
An collision report was completed and given to both drivers involved. The company owning the pickup was notified of the collision. Photos were obtained during the investigation.
The suspect driver claimed the brakes on the vehicle bled causing the vehicle to roll forward. Winter studded tires were still on the vehicle. A traffic notice and order was issued to immediately remove the vehicle from the roadway based on the claims made regarding the brakes and out of season, studded tires.
Clearwater RCMP responded to 35 calls for service this past week.
Sgt. G.D. Simpson is the detachment commander at the Clearwater RCMP Detachment. Anyone with information on a crime is encouraged to call Clearwater RCMP at 250-674-2237 or, to report anonymously, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.