A man who was injured after being shot in an altercation with Salmon Arm police now faces numerous related charges.
On Jan. 30, around 12:20 a.m., Salmon Arm RCMP responded to a complaint of a theft in progress at the Xcalibur Car Wash in the 2300 block of 10th Avenue SW, just off the Trans-Canada Highway.
BC RCMP stated the suspect attempted to escape in a vehicle and an altercation resulted in shots fired by police.
The suspect, Kaymen Wesley Winter, was transported to hospital in Kamloops, where his family members say he is being treated for bullet wounds, one in the head and another in the shoulder.
Court documents show charges have been filed against Winter related to the Jan. 30 incident. They include a Jan. 29 Canada Criminal Code (CCC) charge of break and enter and committing an indictable offence out of Sicamous. The remaining CCC charges are dated Jan. 30 from Salmon Arm, and include:
• Carry/use/threaten to use a weapon;
• Willfully resisting or obstructing a police officer;
• Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle;
• Theft;
• Possession of stolen property (10 counts);
• Deal with identity document without lawful excuse;
• Possession break-in instrument;
• Breach of undertaking or recognizance (four counts).
In addition, Winter faces a charge under the Motor Vehicle Act of driving with a suspended licence.
Prior to the Jan. 30 incident, Nanaimo RCMP were looking for two men accused of 19 fraud charges who did not show up for their day in court. One of them was Kaymen Winter, 22.
According to Nanaimo police, Winter and Corey Leblanc had allegedly tried to purchase more than $1,100 worth of goods with a Visa card at the Brooks Landing Home Hardware. When the receipt print out indicated a MasterCard had been used, staff queried the men, who grabbed the card and fled.
Subsequent to the shooting, Winter’s family set up a GoFundMe account to help cover with expenses. The account information states the young man was shot by Salmon Arm police in the head and shoulder.
Kaymen Winter’s mom, dad and two older sisters raced to Kamloops as soon as they heard what had happened.
The fundraising page states: “Kaymen is not perfect, he did have a warrant for missing court, so I can understand him being spooked when he seen the police. He was unarmed and I honestly don’t see him putting the police in harm’s way.”
As of Feb. 9, the account had raised $757 of its $3,000 goal.
The account concludes by stating “there is an independent investigation happening so we hope if they were in the wrong, the police will be held accountable for what they did.”
The shooting remains under investigation by the Independent Investigations Office of BC. Their initial report can be found here.
