A local man is facing several criminal charges after police responded to the sound of gunshots coming from a property in the outskirts of Warfield.
This case unfolded the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 24, when Trail RCMP officers attended the address in-question, described as the 1300-block of Highway 3B.
Once on the property, the RCMP report they located three men standing in the driveway outside of a residence.
Police allege that one of the men, William Tyler, was holding a sawed-off shotgun in his hands.
Tyler, 40, allegedly admitted to firing the shotgun and demonstrated it was unloaded, then handed it over to an officer.
Police say Tyler admitted that he did not have a firearm licence that allowed him to possess the weapon.
The RCMP reports that the shotgun was considered prohibited due to its overall length being too short to legally possess.
An officer arrested Tyler for possession of a prohibited firearm.
Incidental to his arrest, police allegedly found ammunition, body armour, 21 grams of substance suspected to be fentanyl, 2.7 grams of a substance suspected to be methamphetamine, and 6.5 grams of a substance suspected to be cocaine.
Police say that Tyler also had an outstanding warrant of arrest for previously failing to attend court on another criminal charge.
He was taken into custody and held at the Trail detachment. Tyler appeared before a judge and has been released on several conditions.
Tyler faces several criminal charges including: possession of a prohibited weapon; possession of a firearm without a valid firearms licence; possession of body armour without permit; and three charges of possession of a controlled substance.
“The man was cooperative with police and turned over the shotgun immediately,” Sgt. Mike Wicentowich said. “The subsequent investigation yielded a significant amount of what was believed to be illicit drugs and some body armour,” he added.
“It is a lot easier for the police to enforce the law when the accused does something to attract our attention such as in this incident.”
911 trigger
The afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 5, the RCMP responded to an abandoned 911 emergency call originating from a cell phone in Rossland. The officer was able to contact the caller who reported the call was accidental. She informed police that she was skiing in the area and her cell phone activated a SOS application due to her physical activity, and not a crash.
“Please be aware if your cell phone has this automatic crash notification,” Wicentowich said. “The Trail RCMP has been receiving 911 emergency calls as a result of this feature as it initiates a priority investigation. If you accidentally trigger such an alert, please contact your local police agency immediately to report it.”
Vehicle vandalized
The afternoon of Feb. 5, a Trail RCMP officer received a report about mischief to a vehicle parked in a lot to a popular backcountry locale on Highway 3B, near Rossland. The owner reported that someone had smashed his driver side passenger window; however, nothing was stolen.
“Please be aware that this is the second incident in a short time and someone may be targeting parked vehicles in this area,” Wicentowich advises. “Lock your vehicles and remove all valuables.”
Report suspicious vehicles, people, or activity to the Trail detachment.