Vauxhall town council issued RCMP report

By J.W. Schnarr
Vauxhall Advance
jwschnarr@tabertimes.com

An assault with no charges laid and the possible fine for flipping the bird at another drive were highlights of a recent Vauxhall police report.

During their regular meeting on Dec. 15, Vauxhall council heard from Taber/Vauxhall RCMP Cst. Keith MacDonald on local police activity in November.

“We had a report of an assault, and it was people who were very familiar to us,” said MacDonald. “The argument was over something very stupid, and they were both threatening to hurt each other. Basically one person took a (baseball) bat and smashed out the other person’s window. However, the person who was the victim declined to lay charges, for whatever reason.
It turns out they were just as culpable in that matter.”

“Everyone was arrested, but everyone refused to provide statements for each other,” he added. “There’s not much we can do because we didn’t witness it.”

In another instance, MacDonald said an argument spread out over several locations resulted in two DUIs.

“A vehicle at (a local gas station), someone was leaving the gas station and kicked up gravel at another vehicle,” said MacDonald. He added the two saw one another a short time later.

“He gave (the driver) the finger which is a $402 fine,” said MacDonald. “So then the guy followed him home and drove up onto his lawn so he could get into an argument with him.”

MacDonald said there were actually two vehicles which drove up onto the man’s lawn, and when police tracked down the vehicles, both drivers lost their licenses for driving under the influence of alcohol. MacDonald said in the case of the fine for giving someone the finger, the fine is a result of distracting the driver.

“It’s (classified as) ‘performing an action that’s likely to distract other users on the road,’” he said. “So if you give someone the finger, they’re not going to be completely focused on the road.”

“I slid on the ice one time and a guy gave me a ‘thumbs up’,” he added. “Even that is distracting, and you can be fined for it.”

MacDonald also provided an update on a robbery which occurred late last year at a local gas station.

“Both people were arrested,” he said. They provided confessions, and we got a warrant, and entered their house, and recovered all the missing items. We returned all the items to the (gas station).

“The male who was involved, who committed the offense, is being held in remand and is awaiting trial. The female is currently out on strict conditions and is currently back in town. They both worked there, and they both planned this out and went through it. Through our investigation, we determined who it was and got confessions out of both of them.”

In all, RCMP took part in 74 patrols in Vauxhall and responded to 26 calls during November, including:

four impaired driving complaints;
one assault;
two thefts;
one mischief;
five complaints of other Criminal Code or statutes;
four 9-1-1 hang-ups;
three false alarms;
one instance of lost or found property;
one traffic collision;
one bylaw complaint; and
three administration files.
In addition, RCMP handed out 14 tickets for traffic violations, including:
four other moving violations;
two seatbelt violations;
six non-moving violations; and
two violations for other Provincial Acts or statutes.

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