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Man charged in 7-Eleven fire in Shuswap granted bail

Accused facing arson charges released with 23 conditions including a 7 p.m. curfew
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Emergency crews tackle the fire at the front of the 7-Eleven convenience store on Highway 1 in Salmon Arm about 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 24. (Lachlan Labere/Salmon Arm Observer)

The man facing three charges in connection with a fire that damaged a 7-Eleven convenience store in Salmon Arm has been granted bail.

Kenneth Robert Laforge, 38, is charged with mischief of $5,000 or under, arson in relation to inhabited property and arson damaging property. On Aug. 24, Laforge was arrested at the scene of the blaze where a vehicle had been driven into the downtown convenience store.

In an Aug. 27 news release from the Salmon Arm RCMP, Staff Sgt. Scott West said: “Upon police arrival it appeared as if the suspect, the driver of the vehicle, allegedly poured gasoline inside the store and lit the store on fire. The store became fully engulfed with fire.”

The 7-Eleven remains closed.

Related: Suspect in Salmon Arm 7-Eleven fire facing charges

On Jan. 16, Provincial Court judge Richard Hewson granted Laforge bail, but with 23 conditions. They include: a curfew confining him inside his Sorrento residence between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. each day unless he has a compelling reason and has written permission from his bail supervisor; not going to a 7-Eleven store in Salmon Arm; not possessing or consuming drugs or alcohol; and participating in and completing any counselling, treatment, program or residential program directed by his bail supervisor.

He was released on $1,000 bail with a $250 deposit.

Laforge is scheduled to return to Provincial Court in Salmon Arm on Jan. 29.

The allegations against him have not been proven in court.


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marthawickett@saobserver.net

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Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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