A man wanted Canada-wide for parole violations and a suspect involved in a January arson in Kamloops was nabbed by RCMP in Grand Forks on Feb. 10, after police across the Southern Interior pieced together tips of a vehicle’s movements and tracked it to the Boundary.
Nearly two weeks earlier, Kamloops RCMP responded to an arson at a local hotel where a male suspect reportedly fled in a black pickup truck with Alberta license plates.
Then, on Feb. 9, Kelowna RCMP received a driving complaint that involved a black Dodge pickup truck with Alberta licence plates. The vehicle was located, however the driver fled when police attempted to pull it over. At that time, it was learned that the vehicle was registered to a man wanted Canada-wide for parole violations.
Later the same day, RCMP in Greenwood received a driving complaint involving the same black Dodge pickup and, with the assistance of Midway and Grand Forks RCMP, located the pickup abandoned in Grand Forks with no sign of its driver. All police officers in the Grand Forks area were alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect driver.
A West Kootenay Traffic Service RCMP constable was on her way to work Monday, Feb. 10, when she spotted a man fitting the suspect’s description. The constable, who had heard the call to be on the lookout for the suspect, immediately called for assistance and proceed, with another officer, to ask the suspect for identification.
When we called the suspect by name, he asked why police asked for identification if they already knew who he was,
said a spokesperson for the West Kootenay Traffic Service. He was arrested without incident and transported a short distance to the Grand Forks RCMP Detachment and held for court on numerous outstanding charges and parole violations.
This was an excellent example of officer awareness that resulted in the peaceful arrest of a dangerous and wanted individual,
said Acting Insp. Chad Badry, Commander of WKTS. Just because we are not on shift doesn’t mean we turn off the radar!
