City police have some suspects in their sights following a couple of break, enter and theft incidents in Estevan last Friday night.
Estevan Police Service members have interviewed a group of people they believe may have been involved in both events, and they are now piecing together the evidentiary material as part of their ongoing investigation.
EPS members reported they were also busy on the traffic enforcement scene Friday night with eight drivers being charged with traffic-related offences such as speeding and running red lights. They also charged two people for driving while impaired and driving while their blood-alcohol content was over .08 per cent.
An assault that occurred on Fourth Street is also under investigation with police collecting witness statements at this point of the process.
Friday night also saw EPS members arrest a young man for being in breach of court-ordered conditions. He now has another court date.
The next night, April 5, EPS members arrested two people on the east side of the city. A female driver was arrested for impaired driving while her male passenger was picked up on a mischief charge for an event that had occurred the previous weekend. Both were released from custody following the establishment of their court dates.
When police arrived at an east side lounge in response to a parking lot fight, they placed one combatant under arrest because he was seen to be in breach of his court-ordered conditions to abstain from alcohol consumption. He spent the night in cells and was released with another court date set.
A fight at a north side convenience store attracted police attention on the night of April 5. One man involved in the incident was arrested on a mischief charge after it was noted he had caused damage to property inside the store. The male youth was taken into custody and spent the night lodged in cells.
Another man, noted to be in an intoxicated state while on the north side of the city, was taken into custody after he walked into a residence uninvited while looking for a house-party. He was arrested a short distance from the home and spent the rest of the night looking for a party in a jail cell.
A man who was suspected of trespassing attempted to flee from police on foot on the night of April 5, but he didn't get too far before he was taken into custody and lodged in cells overnight.
EPS members were also asked to look into two separate alleged assault incidents that took place on April. Charges are pending as police advance their investigation into the two events.
EPS members along with members of Estevan Fire Rescue Services responded to an alarm that had been triggered at the Estevan Curling Club and Civic Auditorium. The alarm was set off near the end of a cabaret event so the buildings were evacuated while officials investigated the premises and the cause of the alarm.
Later police issued a thank you to those who were present at the function for their co-operation and smooth exits from the facility when they were asked to do so.
Police added that they also extended thanks to the organizers of the Strippers Hockey Tournament cabaret since it appeared to run smoothly from a police perspective with very few incidents to respond to.
"We'd like to thank M&H Taxi and Go Cabs for their efforts on the weekend along with the van driver/volunteers who ensured that people made it home safely. The Baker Hughes vans and the taxis minimized a lot of issues and impaired driving potential and as a result, we thank them all," said Const. Tyler McMillen of EPS following the event.
On the night of April 6, EPS members were involved in a situation of false identification, which was eventually sorted out, but not before a parking lot incident had escalated to the point of an active investigation.
The original complaint came as a result of a minor collision that involved a parked car in the WalMart parking lot. The complainant said a group of people, not associated with the collision, decided to get involved with them, and as a result, attacked a man she was with, while they were in the parking lot. These suspects were said to be in a black Ford truck bearing identifiable licence plate letters and numbers that they provided to police. They also said they suspected the driver might have been impaired.
When police stopped the vehicle in question in the parking lot, the occupants were arrested on an assault charge. While the two men in the black truck were being arrested, the complainants called back and gave the police dispatcher a different licence plate number and a different description of the truck the suspects were in.
As a result of the second call, the two men in the black Ford truck were released and police went out to search for people in a red Chevrolet truck instead. The truck and occupants were found, but after further investigation that included the complainant and her male friend, police discovered that the complainant's friend had not been attacked and that the driver of the red truck was not impaired and the whole incident was dismissed.
Police noted that this incidence of mistaken identification ended satisfactorily enough and noted that the two men who were being falsely accused had co-operated with them and understood that the EPS members were simply trying to do their job based on information that had been provided to them.
Once the more accurate information was relayed to the investigating officers, the incident became less clouded and eventually ended with an easy solution, meaning no further police action was necessary.
Police are using the event however, as a reminder to the public to make sure they have proper identification and observances when reporting incidents so that ensuing investigations can be carried out efficiently.
Earlier in the week, on April 3, EPS members arrested a man during a roadside check and reported that the vehicle contained two open beer containers and a small bag containing 3.5 grams of marijuana in a driver's door pocket.
As a result of their findings, police arrested the three men on charges of possession of a controlled substance. A more extensive search of the vehicle unveiled another 16 grams of marijuana. The driver of the vehicle was given a 24-hour driving suspension along with being charged for being in possession of a controlled substance along with a traffic fine for failing to comply with the restrictions on his license. One passenger claimed the original bag of marijuana that was uncovered, was his and he was charged accordingly.
On the night of April 3, EPS members conducted two other roadside stops on city streets due to the vehicle operator's actions and in both incidents the drivers were handed 24-hour license suspensions.
