Crime
Victim testifies to sexual assault in dangerous offender hearing
PENTICTON — A sexual assault victim continued to give her testimony today during the dangerous offender hearing for David Bobbitt who raped her nearly eight years ago. The victim appeared in Penticton Supreme Court via closed circuit TV and gave evidence of an incident that took place in 2007. There is no relation between this...

RCMP say sex offender lied in police statement
PENTICTON — The RCMP officer who interrogated David Wesley Bobbitt after his arrest in 2007 said Bobbitt’s story was full of holes and accused him of not telling the truth in his statement. The video statement was played in Penticton Supreme Court today as part of Const. Mike Desmond’s testimony. He was the officer who...

Victim’s mother called to witness stand in dangerous offender hearing
PENTICTON - The mother of a sexual assault victim gave a brief testimony today saying her daughter would “shut down” if she was forced to testify in a room with the accused, David Wesley Bobbitt. Bobbitt’s dangerous offender hearing began this morning in Penticton Supreme Court with the offender appearing in person. Bobbitt pleaded guilty...

Vernon RCMP issue warning after rash of thefts from vehicles
VERNON - A rash of thefts from vehicles has police asking the public to take precautions. In the last week alone, there were over 20 thefts from vehicles, RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. “The Vernon North Okanagan Detachment would like to remind people not to leave items in plain view in your vehicles,” Molendyk says....

A fraudulent credit card, $400 worth of meat, and an off-duty cop
VERNON - A pair of people trying to buy hundreds of dollars worth of meat on Valentine’s Day attracted the attention of an off-duty officer. The individuals, a 31-year-old man from Penticton and a 32-year-old woman, were trying to pay for approximately $400 worth of meat from M&M Meats on Saturday, but the man was...

Former U.S. ski coach admitted to peeping on his students
THE STORY YOU ALMOST DIDN'T GET TO READ VERNON - Jason Paur, the former Seattle ski coach arrested for secretly filming young girls while on a school trip to Silver Star, pleaded guilty to three of the counts against him on Jan. 12, 2015. But we couldn’t tell you about that until today. When Paur...

Vernon RCMP looking for person of interest after elderly man assaulted
VERNON - Police are appealing to the public for information after an elderly man was allegedly assaulted Thursday afternoon. According to a Vernon RCMP media release, the 83-year-old man was walking along the sidewalk between Coldstream Avenue and 30 Avenue on 34 Street just before 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12. He spoke to a man...

Former Vernon Mountie facing child porn allegations arrested on unrelated charges in Alberta
VERNON - A former Vernon Mountie awaiting trial on child pornography charges was arrested in Alberta last week for impaired driving and possession of stolen property. RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Sharon Franks says Ryan Hampton, 37, was arrested Feb. 2 by police in Strathmore, Alta. After pulling him over, officers searched the vehicle and...

Lumby man will stand trial for school teacher’s murder
VERNON - A Lumby man accused of murdering his girlfriend, a local school teacher, will stand trial in Supreme Court. Following a preliminary inquiry at the Vernon Courthouse last week, the judge ruled there is enough evidence to order Howard Everett Krewson, 55, to stand trial. Krewson is accused of killing Vernon school teacher Linda...

RCMP looking for suspicious vehicle in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS – RCMP would like to talk to the man who was driving his truck around a Kamloops neighbourhood reportedly following some children. Around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8, there was a report about a suspicious vehicle in Westsyde in the Sandpiper Drive area. “It was reported a mid-1990s, red, Chevrolet truck with some...

RCMP arrest 13 people in drug trafficking investigation
KELOWNA - A drug trafficking investigation led to 13 arrests Friday morning but only five will face the judge. Kelowna RCMP showed up at what they say is a known problem residence in the 1300 block of Belaire Avenue with a search warrant, according to an RCMP media release. Mounties found cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and...

Family pleads for witnesses after father backed over by a car
“HE WAS IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME” VERNON - Andrew Raab walked the same route to the Upper Room Mission for lunch every single day, not because he couldn’t afford food—he paid for all his meals—but because he liked the company. “He didn’t like being alone, he liked being out in the...

Smoke break proves costly for Summerland man
PENTICTON - A stop for a quick smoke—of illicit materials—cost a Summerland man his freedom earlier this week. On February 2, Penticton RCMP were notified of a male smoking drugs in a vehicle parked in the Lakeside Resort parking lot. Police attended the scene, but the driver had departed. Police had a description of the...

Rock-in-sock attacker loses appeal
PENTICTON - A man convicted of two years less a day for a vicious attack on a Penticton man will serve his full sentence after losing his appeal this week. Anthony Leonard Donald Samuelson argued his sentence was unduly harsh and requested instead a three-year suspended sentence or a reduction of the present jail term....

Vandals spray paint car, garage door in Glenrosa
WEST KELOWNA - Someone is tagging personal property with spray paint in the Glenrosa neighbourhood of West Kelowna. The latest incident happened last night, Jan. 28, in the 3200-block of McMahon Road, a few blocks from Glenrosa Elementary School, according to a post on Facebook. A Subaru Forrester and garage door were spray painted with pink...