Estevan Police Service members had a busy week responding to calls regarding intoxicated citizens and they also initiated a charge of crack cocaine trafficking following a major drug bust on the night of Feb. 7.
The drug trafficking charges came shortly after city police had levied impaired driving charges against a local driver in an unrelated incident on the city's north side.
While some members were handling the north side impairment issue, other officers were stopping a truck that was attempting to leave an east side hotel and lounge.
While checking the driver out for sobriety, EPS members discovered the man was in breach of multiple conditions that had been applied to him in the Regina area, so he was arrested for those breaches. It was determined, however, that he was sober.
A subsequent search of the man's vehicle led to the discovery of a significant amount of crack cocaine and a large sum of Canadian currency. The cocaine has an estimated street value of between $20,000 and $25,000.
The man was initially charged with being in possession of the drug for the purpose of trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime along with being in breach of the conditions that had been applied to him by a Regina court.
The investigation continues with the possibility of further charges being levied against the subject.
In earlier policing activity, EPS members visited an apartment complex in the city's northeast area that night in response to a call from a tenant who described a female's voice coming from another apartment asking for someone to call police.
Based on the information received from the call, police responded to the area and eventually made contact with the woman who may have been in distress as a result of a domestic dispute. The man involved in the incident had left the scene before police arrived. No injuries had been sustained and no further policing action was required.
On that same evening, police were called to a hotel on the east side of the city to follow up on a report of three men fighting in the hotel parking lot.
When they arrived police found two men with minor injuries walking around the lot and in possession of an extra pair of shoes. Witnesses on the scene directed police to the third participant who appeared to have been the instigator of the fracas. He attempted to run from police in his stocking feet, but was quickly caught and arrested for being intoxicated in public. He was lodged in cells until sober and was released with a court date in which he will be answer to charges.
Another incident on Feb. 7 led police to suspend a truck driver's licence for a 24-hour period after they stopped him on the east side of the city. The breathalyzer test was administered and indicated the man had an impairment level of over .04 per cent and had multiple warrants out for his arrest. He was taken to the police station and issued a new court date to answer to those charges before being released.
EPS members received another call about a possible impaired driver on the north side of the city. Police were close to the lounge where it was believed the driver was departing so they were able to locate the vehicle quickly and charge a female driver for impaired driving and driving while her blood-alcohol level was over .08 per cent.
A report of an assault taking place outside a local lounge, led to police response that same night. Most of the people involved in the incident were gone before they arrived but the complainant suggested he might provide police with a statement regarding the event.
The next call on the night of Feb. 7, involved an intoxicated man who was reported missing on the north side of the city. The man had left a residence and then hadn't been seen for more than two hours by his friends who had launched a search for him. After those two futile hours, they had contacted police for assistance.
While police joined the search, their communication officer in the station continued to call the missing man's cellphone number in the hopes he would answer. She was eventually able to make contact with him and he provided her with some landmarks and a description of the area he was in while police patrolled the area with searchlights. An EPS member, following the hints provided, was able to locate the missing man who was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital for a medical assessment before being released into the care of his friends.
On the night of Feb. 8, EPS members received a call regarding a possible impaired driver on the northeast side of the city. With further assistance from callers, police located the vehicle and charged the driver with impaired driving and driving while over .08.
Another traffic stop along 13th Avenue near King Street led to a roadside test request only this time the driver, who was suspected of being impaired, refused to submit to a breathalyzer examination and was charged with impaired driving and refusing to provide a sufficient sample of breath.
In response to a call regarding a fight inside a north side lounge on the night of Feb. 8, EPS members paid a visit to the establishment and discovered that the altercation had ended and the combatants had gone their separate ways.
