Loaded weapon found inside truck
An RCMP officer found more than he was looking for after stopping a suspected impaired driver Monday.
Just after 1 a.m., a Lumby officer responded to a call of a possible impaired driver in the Cherryville area. He spoke to the concerned citizen, then made patrols and found the suspect vehicle.
“The vehicle was stopped and there were three people in it at the time,” said North Okanagan RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk.
“When our officer spoke to the driver, a 34-year-old Cherryville man, he appeared to be under the influence of liquor.”
That’s when the officer noticed a rifle leaning on the front seat between the driver and the passenger.
The officer had the driver exit the truck, then he removed the rifle for safety reasons.
“When our officer checked the rifle, he found it to be loaded with two rounds,” said Molendyk.
“The driver had several more (rounds) in his jacket.”
A second officer came to assist in dealing with this situation.
The driver was taken to the police station for impaired driving. Molendyk said the man’s blood-alcohol reading was more than twice the legal limit.
The suspect is also likely to face firearms-related charges.
The two passengers were allowed to leave.
The incident remains under investigation.
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.