21580 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

...I don't think CD does lots of crime reporting.

I suppose it's not necessary when your style of reporting is criminal itself.

[pontcanna]

POLICE SEIZE OVER $100,000 IN VAPE PRODUCTS BEING SOLD TO YOUTH

 

March 22, 2023

 

File #22-22871

 

On Friday, Saanich Police detectives seized over $100,000 worth of vaping products that were being sold to youth at local schools.

 

In November 2022, police began to investigate reports that persons were attending middle and high schools in Saanich selling vaping products to students under the age of 18.

 

Over the next several months, officers witnessed individuals selling vaping products to youth at schools across the CRD, both during and after school hours. They were also seen selling to youth at malls and parks, accepting cash or cards by processing their payment through portable Point of Sale machines.

 

The sellers used food delivery service bags, duffle bags, or plastic totes to disguise their operation.

 

On March 17, 2023, with the assistance of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team, SPD’s Street Crime Unit executed a search warrant at a business in the 700 block of Vanalman Avenue in relation to the activities, which were contrary to the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act. They located and seized over $100,000 worth of vaping products, including vape kits, pens, e-cigarettes, tanks, e-liquids, and disposables. They also seized liquids that contained up to 98% THC content, and some tobacco products.

 

The investigation revealed that the sellers were contacting youth primarily through the social media platform Snapchat to advertise their products. They would then send direct messages to confirm prices and schedule a delivery time and location.

 

The federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act states that the distribution of any tobacco or vaping product to a person under the age of 18 is prohibited.

 

No arrests have been made, and the investigation is still ongoing.

 

“It is clear that the items are branded and marketed in such a way to entice youth into buying them, and these individuals specifically targeted schools to sell their products,” said Cst. Markus Anastasiades.

 

 

Cst. Markus Anastasiades
Public Information & Communications Office

 

[pontcanna]

Nanaimo teacher put on leave after sting by 'creep catcher' group

A secondary school teacher in Nanaimo has been placed on leave while the school district investigates allegations made on social media.

A notice about the action taken by Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools in relation to a John Barsby Community School teacher has been sent to school families and staff.

The teacher will be on leave pending the investigation’s outcome, the district said.

Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools did not give any details, but the South Island Predator Publishing Facebook group posted a video it alleges shows a teacher showing up to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy.

The school district said it is important for it to follow “proper processes” in looking into the allegations.

More: https://www.timescol...r-group-6742443

[pontcanna]

It did seem pretty harsh at the time.


Judge cuts Colwood mom’s sentence for sexually assaulting teen, rules it unduly ‘harsh’

Mom from Colwood had sex with 15-year-old more than once

https://www.vicnews....t-unduly-harsh/

 

 

Woman wins reduced sentence in sex assault appeal

• Times Colonist
• 22 Mar 2023

...B.C. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Saunders reduced the woman’s sentence to three years, finding that the trial judge erred in failing to properly apply the totality principle of Canadian law which states: “Where consecutive sentences are imposed, the combined sentence should not be unduly long or harsh.”

 

The trial heard that in April 2020, she lived in a townhouse in a Colwood development. One evening, a group of four boys gathered on the sidewalk outside her home. She and a friend were on their way to the liquor store. The teens offered to trade marijuana for a six-pack of vodka coolers. The women agreed and came back with the six-pack and their own two litres of wine. By this time, the 15-year-old boy had joined the group.

 

The two women drank wine. The boys smoked dope and drank the coolers. Everyone was intoxicated to some degree. Then the woman began an erotic solo dance, removing some of her clothing. She sat on the 15-year-old’s lap. They began to kiss, then went upstairs and had sex. The woman testified that she asked “Are you sure you’re 18?” three times. The boy replied “Yes” and “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

 

A few days later, she sent a text inviting the 15-year-old to a “hot make-out sesh.” He came over and they had sex on a couch in her garage.

 

...Ms. P. immediately appealed her sentence, seeking a reduced sentence or a conditional sentence Saunders found that although the offences were separate, the woman’s moral culpability was rooted in her “initial reckless failure” to find out her victim’s true age. He also found the luring charge — the text message — was on the low end of the scale and not a case of electronic media being used to “groom” a potential victim.

“These considerations militated against the total sentence simply being the sum of separate consecutive sentences,” he wrote.

 

Saunders found that Gouge was heavily influenced by the Supreme Court of Canada case, R. v. Friesen, which governs sentencing in cases of sexual assault upon a child. The Friesen case says the courts must send a strong message that sexual offences against children are violent crimes that wrongfully exploit children’s vulnerability and cause profound harm to children, families, and communities. Sentences for these crimes must increase.

 

Saunders noted that the circumstances of the Friesen case were vastly different. The accused in that case inflicted sexual violence on a four-yearold child, with the child’s mother participating. The accused’s likelihood of reoffending was judged to be high.

 

Ms. P. was young and the primary caregiver to her son. She had no criminal record and her risk of re-offending was low, noted Saunders.

 

“I find that a fit global sentence is a term of three years. This is sufficient to recognize the gravity of the offences, the primacy of the objectives of denunciation and deterrence, and the appellant’s moral culpability. “

Saunders reduced the sentence to two years on the first count of sexual assault, one year on the second count of sexual assault, to be served consecutively; and one year on the luring count, to be served concurrently.

 

More: https://www.timescol...lt-case-6738134

[Nparker]

POLICE SEIZE OVER $100,000 IN VAPE PRODUCTS BEING SOLD TO YOUTH...

Should have just sold them crack or meth, then the police could have looked the other way in the name of "de-stigmatizing".

[Victoria Watcher]

Yes. It seems a bit comical.

#clownworldlawenforcement

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 March 2023 - 01:47 PM.

[lanforod]

I’d like to see Canada change the mandate on sentencing . Chronic reoffenders should be at the level that we are seeking punishment as well as rehabilitation. Obviously rehabilitation isn’t working for some time to try something else .

 

The only one who'd get that done is Pierre Poilievre; and only if he gets a majority government, along with enough time to balance the courts back out again too, because the courts are causing the problem just as much, at all levels.

[Sparky]

^ The Conservative Party is polling 2 points behind their performance at the last election.

https://cultmtl.com/...entions-canada/

[Mike K.]

Don’t fall for that so quickly. Polling is a broken industry, as proven over the last half dozen elections.

[LJ]

^ The Conservative Party is polling 2 points behind their performance at the last election.

https://cultmtl.com/...entions-canada/

Not according to Angus Reid......

 

https://angusreid.or...ention-tracker/

[Mike K.]

One of the victims in the knife rampage was a tourist, I saw the incident where a man from Nanaimo had his wallet stolen while at a downtown business, and there was the incident where the tourists walking their dog were attacked by a man who struck their dog.

Those incidents, from a marketing perspective are not good, surely. Meanwhile, Victoria council clandestinely cut over $200,000 from VicPD’s Late Night Great Night budget, because that’s what you do when your city is under attack.

[Victoria Watcher]

How does one have their wallet stolen from a downtown coffee shop, short of being careless with it?

My wallet is either on my person, or is in my hands while I transact. It’s never, ever nearby where someone that can grab it.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 23 March 2023 - 12:00 PM.

[Mike K.]

The thief reaches into a person’s bag, and takes it, then runs off with it.

Visitors still think Victoria is a safe city. Clearly, it’s not.

But luckily, City Hall’s employees and politicians are safe behind locked doors at City Hall, and security guards are posted inside the building.

[pontcanna]

Hoo boy - Mental Health Act...then the revelation that he was the shooter of the pizza staff guy nearby only a few days before...

 

Boy who killed Edmonton officers previously apprehended under Mental Health Act

 

EDMONTON — A 16-year-old boy who fatally shot two officers a week ago had been apprehended in November under the Mental Health Act and was taken to hospital for assessment, Edmonton police say.

The same gun was also used in a shooting days before the killings at a nearby restaurant that left a man injured, Deputy Chief Devin Laforce said at a news conference Thursday.

Investigators are working to trace the origins of the gun and how it came to be in the boy's possession, and that other people could face charges, he said.

The Pizza Hut employee who was shot and injured on March 12 remains in hospital in stable but critical condition, Laforce added.

His mother remains in hospital in critical, but stable condition. She is unable to speak but has been able to communicate through writing, Laforce said.

Laforce said investigators continue to believe the boy's parents, police dispatch and the responding officers were unaware there was a firearm in the home.

Police said they are investigating the youth's phone and computer. They are also waiting on toxicology results.

Supt. Shane Perka said police could not provide details on the outcome of the youth's mental health assessment.

More: https://www.timescol...lth-act-6748500

 

In other Edmonton Police news, a long serving female constable has died, cause not disclosed:

 

https://edmontonjour...of-two-officers

 

[todd]

The thief reaches into a person’s bag, and takes it, then runs off with it.

Visitors still think Victoria is a safe city. Clearly, it’s not.

But luckily, City Hall’s employees and politicians are safe behind locked doors at City Hall, and security guards are posted inside the building.

There’s worse cities

Edited by todd, 23 March 2023 - 02:58 PM.

[Barrrister]

Sure, there are worse cities. Bakhmut  comes to mind.

[todd]

Sure, there are worse cities. Bakhmut comes to mind.

all the cities on the west coast of North America that are bigger than Victoria are worse even when you consider population

Edited by todd, 23 March 2023 - 03:32 PM.

[pontcanna]

Chilliwack RCMP seek public assistance in identifying a female suspected of ATM thefts

2023-03-23 - File #2021-32517

The Chilliwack RCMP are seeking public assistance in identifying the woman believed to be involved in a series of ATM thefts which occurred in the Upper Fraser Valley.

In July 2021, the UFVRD responded to a series of four Break and Enters to major financial institutions in which a female posing as a janitor allegedly stole large quantities of cash from Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) within the banks. Surveillance video captured the female suspect wearing a bright blue collared shirt, dark pants, a medical style mask, latex gloves and a dark coloured ball cap. According to the surveillance footage, the female suspect is approximately 5-feet-tall and is seen carrying a backpack style vacuum cleaner. A dark coloured pick up truck is also captured by surveillance footage and is believed to be associated.

Chilliwack RCMP’s Property Crime Unit worked in close partnership with FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) to identify suspects through a number of suspicious transactions. This complex and multi-jurisdictional investigation led to the recent execution of a search warrant at a residence in Nanaimo.

On March 8, 2023, Chilliwack RCMP, together with assistance from multiple Vancouver Island District RCMP agencies executed a search warrant at a residence in the 2600 block of Barnes Road in Nanaimo. This search warrant resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of cash and several high value assets believed to be purchased through the proceeds of crime.

 

 

While this investigation continues, police have yet to identify the woman and the truck captured in the attached surveillance photos, says Sergeant Krista Vrolyk, media spokesperson for the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment. Police are seeking public assistance in identifying the woman and associated vehicle involved in this crime series.

 

Anyone with information regarding the female suspect and/or suspect vehicle is asked to call the Chilliwack RCMP Property Crime Unit at 604-792-4611 (Reference Chilliwack RCMP 2021-32517).

Released by:

Sgt. Krista Vrolyk
NCO i/c Crime Prevention and Operations Support

 

[Nparker]

Maybe it's just time to arrest anyone who still wears a mask in public.

[todd]

Maybe it's just time to arrest anyone who still wears a mask in public.

Most criminals are unmasked