It took more than 11 hours of negotiations, but a police standoff at a local trailer park ended peacefully late Saturday (Jan. 5) night.
According to a police spokesperson, the Mission RCMP were on scene at a trailer park on Maple Lane in the Leq’á:mel First Nation, near Deroche.
The situation began at about 10 a.m., when police arrived to apprehend a suspect, 33-year-old Ian Gerald Mountain, who had outstanding warrants. Mountain refused to come out of a house, as did others inside the building.
A standoff began, and negotiators and the Emergency Response Team (ERT) were brought in.
Several people in the surrounding area were evacuated from their homes as the standoff dragged on.
At about 9:30 p.m., the incident ended peacefully and Mountain and another suspect were arrested.
The other suspect was later released, while Mountain was taken into custody for the original outstanding warrants.
The Mission RCMP have not yet filed any new charges over the incident as the investigation is ongoing. Mission RCMP plainclothes units are leading the follow-up investigations.
