Police generated 35 case files the night of the Megadeth concert at the South Okanagan Events Centre on March 5 including instances of contraband, drugs and weapons turned over to police by the security team at the event.
Extra officers were called in anticipation of the large crowd at the concert.
“We anticipated there would be issues so we had adequate resources filling the gap,” said Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth with the Penticton RCMP.
Tow truck trick fails
A tow truck company in Penticton was asked by a male to get into his car after locking the keys inside on March 2 in the parking lot of Cherry Lane Mall.
The tow truck driver began to open the door when the actual owner of the vehicle ran out of the mall informing the tow truck driver that it was his vehicle.
The male attempting to illegally enter the vehicle fled and the tow truck driver followed him to a residence on Kinney Avenue.
Police arrived and located the male who was suffering from mental health issues. The man was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and was taken to Penticton Regional Hospital for treatment.
Mid-day truck theft
A 19-year-old female from Oliver is facing charges of theft of an automobile over $5,000 and possession of stolen property over $5,000 after stealing a car from a gas station in the middle of the day on March 3.
A man called to report that his 2008 F-150 pick-up truck had been stolen from the Husky gas station on Main Street and Industrial Avenue. A female with dark hair jumped off her bike and stole the truck, fleeing eastbound on Industrial Avenue. Plain clothes police officers observed the vehicle and followed, stopping the vehicle at Seacrest Place and arresting the driver.
Car thief caught
On March 5 a man left his jacket on a bench at Cherry Lane Mall, when he returned the jacket was gone along with his keys. His vehicle was still in the parking lot when his wife arrived with the spare keys and entered the mall to exchange them. When the couple left the mall, the 2001 grey Mercedes S-500 was missing.
Witnesses observed a woman picking up the jacket and walking away.
Police located the vehicle on March 6 parked at the 7-Eleven convenience store near Green Avenue with the same license plate as reported at the time of the theft.
Police arrested the occupant who was located running eastbound across Skaha Lake Road. The woman is charged with possession of stolen property, was released on a promise to appear and is set to appear in court on March 30.
Fire set to newspaper box
At around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday a Penticton taxi driver called the RCMP to report a male lighting a fire at the Penticton Plaza near the Copper Mug Pub.
Police arrived and were able to extinguish the fire that engulfed a newspaper box. A man was identified and arrested. Samuel Cody Langlois, 38, is facing one count of mischief $5,000 or under and appeared in Penticton Provincial Court on March 8.
