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RCMP call in bomb team for grenade

A landlord made an unusual discovery on the windowsill of his rental home in Alpine Meadows on Tuesday, Sept. 21 - a grenade.

A landlord made an unusual discovery on the windowsill of his rental home in Alpine Meadows on Tuesday, Sept. 21 - a grenade.

The owner of the home confirmed to the RCMP that the place was rented to tenants over the summer months but they had not been back to the property since.

The Whistler RCMP contacted the RCMP Explosives Disposal Unit in Vancouver, who removed the grenade from the property and placed it in a container where it was exploded. It is believed to have been a live grenade, and the leftover fragments have been sent for forensic testing to learn more about it.

There were no injuries or property damage, and the RCMP are now searching for the previous tenants of the house as part of their investigation.

 

Arrests made in three-province crime spree

One suspect has been arrested and another is under investigation after a vehicle theft and crime spree covering three provinces came to an end on Friday, Sept. 24 in Fairview, Alberta. A 22-year-old male is facing numerous charges of Theft of Property over $5,000 and Possession of Stolen property - although the exact charges won't be known until the police complete their investigation.

His female accomplice, 17 years old, is still being investigated, but no charges have been laid at this point.

The RCMP are still piecing together the details, but it appears that the couple left home in the Fairview area on Aug. 30 and headed north to Yellowknife, where they are alleged to have stolen another vehicle. They then headed south and west and ended up in Sea to Sky last week, where a series of incidents were reported.

"It appears that the thieves would steal a vehicle and then drive it until they ran out of gas," said Sergeant Shawn LeMay of the Whistler RCMP.

On Monday, Sept. 20 the RCMP received a call that a suspicious couple were fiddling with a snowmobile on the 6100 Block of Snowridge Crescent before a neighbour challenged them. It now appears that they may have been attempting to siphon gas.

When they left the scene the neighbour reported three digits from the plate number.

That evening at 11:30 p.m. the police got a call about a stolen 1996 Toyota pickup truck on the 8100 block of Golden Bear Place. The following morning a vehicle matching the description of the one the suspects were driving on Snowridge was located, with the same three digits on the plate. After some investigation the police confirmed that the vehicle was stolen from Yellowknife and the plate from another vehicle in Vancouver - which was then swapped out with another stolen plate so the driver didn't notice.

The police later recovered the Toyota on the 4800 block of Casabella after receiving a report of another stolen vehicle - a burgundy Chevrolet Astro van that was recovered in Fairview, Alberta when the suspects returned home.

The RCMP want to hear from anyone in Squamish and Whistler who might have noticed anything suspicious, or suspect that their gas may have been siphoned. Sgt. LeMay says it's likely that other charges will be added as the investigation continues.

 

More impaired drivers caught by new law

Three more impaired drivers were caught by the Whistler RCMP this past week, receiving hefty fines, automatic 90-day driving prohibitions, 30-day vehicle impounds, mandatory orders to attend safe driving programs (at their expense) and purchase interlock devices for their vehicles (also at their expense).

The tough and expensive new laws kicked in on Sept. 20, with the result that a first-time offence blowing over 0.08 blood alcohol content on an approved roadside screening device could cost almost $4,000 when all of the fees and fines are included - not including lost income or transportation costs incurred as a result of the ban.

There are also heavy fines and driving prohibitions for drivers who provide samples in the "warn" range, between 0.05 and 0.08 BAC.

At roughly 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24 the RCMP responded to the scene of a single-vehicle collision on Emerald Drive. The driver was not injured, but debris from the vehicle was spread over 17 metres.

A 33-year-old Whistler woman failed the roadside screening device. She was then brought to the detachment where she provided samples of .250 and .260, or more than three times the limit. In addition to the automatic driving prohibitions, impounding and fines, she is also facing charges of impaired driving and driving over 0.08.

Just one hour later an off-duty Whistler RCMP officer called in a suspected impaired driver after observing a vehicle swerving into the oncoming lane and proceeding through a stop sign without stopping in the Bayshores subdivision.

The RCMP attended and stopped the vehicle on Cheakamus Way. The driver, a 16-year-old Whistler male, failed his test. In addition to the automatic penalties, the RCMP will be adding charges for breaching the conditions of the graduated licencing program. New drivers are not allowed to drive without another licenced driver 25 or older in the vehicle and are not allowed to have any alcohol in their system - even if they are below 0.05.

The third incident was reported at 1:08 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25. The Whistler RCMP stopped a vehicle at Lake Placid and Highway 99 that did not have it headlights activated. They then smelled alcohol on the driver's breath.

The driver, a 57-year-old Whistler female, failed the roadside device.

 

Bicycles ignoring the rules of the road

The Whistler RCMP have noticed several cyclists using crosswalks and road crossings improperly, riding on the road and then riding across crosswalks. Under the Motor Vehicle Act, cyclists must use the turn lanes like other vehicles, with the appropriate hand signals. If they choose to use the crosswalk they must get off their bikes and walk like other pedestrians.