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Surrey man arrested in connection with village stabbing

Knives come out as RCMP have another busy weekend

A 20-year-old Surrey man has been charged with aggravated assault following the stabbing of a 32-year-old man in the throat. The incident occurred after a verbal altercation turned nasty in the early hours of Sunday, May 29.

Police say a group of youths and the victim, who was accompanied by a friend, started arguing outside the Savage Beagle at approximately 2 a.m. Police allege that the Surrey man, identified as Vikramjid Singh Randhawa, stabbed the man in the neck and left the scene.

The man was taken to the Whistler Health Care Centre then transported to Lions Gate Hospital with a serious, life-threatening injury. He was soon after pronounced in stable condition, and was able to leave the hospital two days later.

Meanwhile the RCMP questioned witnesses, got a description of the suspect, and about 10 hours after the incident occurred they made an arrest at a hotel on the 4800 block of Blackcomb Way.

The man was charged with aggravated assault and brought before a tele-JIP, or Justice of the Peace. The JIP released the man on the condition that he stay away from Whistler, abstain from drugs and alcohol – which RCMP say was a factor in the stabbing – and avoid weapons and firearms. He will make his first court appearance in North Vancouver on July 14.

The RCMP were called out to another knife-related incident at approximately 10 p.m. Monday, when they received a report of an assault at a local hotel on the 2600 block of Sundial Crescent.

Officers attended the scene and their subsequent investigation found that a 22-year-old Indo-Canadian male from Surrey had held a knife to the throat of an 18-year-old Coquitlam girl. The victim did not sustain any injury, but was shaken up by the altercation. Police say the suspect and victim knew one another before the assault.

The suspect was taken into custody and transported to North Vancouver for his first court appearance on Tuesday morning.

In addition to the knife-related incidents, the RCMP logged another busy weekend. They attended two fights in progress, arrested 14 people for being drunk in a public place – including two people from Whistler and one from Pemberton – made four drug seizures, investigated three assaults and attended five noise complaints. The list of seized weapons includes a baton, a wooden club, bear spray and a baseball bat.

On the roads, the RCMP attended two motor vehicle incidents in which alcohol was a factor, issued seven 24-hour driving prohibitions for impairment by alcohol, and one 12-hour driving prohibition for the same reason.

"It was manageable, but it definitely was busy," said Michelle Nisbet, the RCMP community policing officer.

"It’s unfortunate that this does happen in Whistler Village, and unfortunate that people come to Whistler with intention of fighting. That’s what our problems are caused by.

"It’s hard to stop everything from happening, especially when you have individuals coming to Whistler to fight, that’s what they’re here for, but it’s a good thing we got this guy in custody, and now he’s charged and going to court."

There were fewer overall incidents last weekend than during the previous long weekend, but the RCMP plan to continue bringing extra officers up from the Lower Mainland until early June.