Of the 65 calls for service over the weekend, the Williams Lake RCMP highlighted five incidents that occurred on April 13 in a press release.
Police were called to Save On Foods at 4:42 p.m. because a male who was in breach of his release conditions from court was inside the store.
Security personnel said they observed a male inside the store walking around, looking at magazines and other items before leaving out the front door without purchasing any items.
Currently the male is under conditions that do not allow him inside any business in Williams Lake without a pre-approved supervisor accompanying him. While no theft had occurred, the male was later arrested by police and informed he was being arrested for breach. As he was being arrested, however, he fled from police. A brief foot pursuit ensued, resulting in the male being taken into custody. He is currently being held for court.
Police responded to a report that a male was standing in the middle of Pine Street with an axe at 5:32 p.m. The male had a bloody face and was also seen arguing with a female. Police attended and located the male and female both standing in a driveway at on 3rd Avenue North in Williams Lake. The male was arrested for breaching his no-contact condition with the female. The male was also under court imposed conditions not to be in possession of weapons. The male was arrested for breach of his conditions and weapons possession and is being held for court
At 6:18 p.m. police responded to a complaint that a shoplifter had just walked out of Safeway carrying a recycle bag with stolen groceries. The suspect was located walking in the alley between Third and Fourth Avenue South. Police informed him he was under arrest for theft at which time the perpetrator became very agitated and started to move away from the arresting police officer. The perpetrator would not listen to any commands and starting fighting as soon as police attempted to arrest him. Despite the perpetrator's resistance he was taken into custody. Further investigation revealed that the perpetrator was under the influence of crack cocaine and was found in possession of a quantity of crack cocaine, pipes, and marijuana. Charges are pending.
At approximately 11:07 p.m. the RCMP received a request to assist the fire department with a fire in an apartment unit at 655 Borland St. Police attended immediately and upon attendance observed a third- floor apartment filled with smoke. Police were able to clear the building and account for the tenants while firefighters tended the fire. Witnesses noticed smoke and had observed a burning couch. At the time of the fire the apartment was unoccupied. One of the witnesses who discovered the fire emptied two fire extinguishers on the couch before leaving the building.
The fire appears to have been started either by a cigarette or some type of drug paraphernalia being dropped between the couch cushions and the arm on the couch. The fire does not appear suspicious at all and all other tenants were able to return to their units.
Police responded to a report of a disturbance outside the Diamonds and Dust Bar at 2:30 a.m. Upon attendance police located a female bleeding from the nose. She stated that she had been punched in the face by an unknown person. Emergency Health Services attended to assist the injured female. No suspects were identified.