A 22-year-old Whistler female has been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking after being pulled over for a traffic stop.
Whistler RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair said the driver was pulled over on Monday (Sept. 10) just after midnight, in the 6100 block of Lorimer Road, for failing to signal when changing lanes.
LeClair said when officers approached the vehicle they noticed a strong odour of fresh marijuana and when they inquired, the passenger grabbed a joint from the dashboard and stated they alone had been smoking it.
Both were arrested for possession of a controlled substance, he said, and when the vehicle was searched a backpack was located. Inside it officers found 200 grams of marijuana, 60 grams of psilocybin, 24 grams of marijuana butter, half a gram of hash, two pills of MDMA, a weigh scale and currency.
LeClair said in the backpack was also identification belonging to the driver who was re-arrested and charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.
She is scheduled make her first appearance in court on Nov. 28.
Impaired charges laid
RCMP officers charged two drivers, in separate incidents over the last week, with impaired driving, while a third was issued a violation ticket for driving while under the influence of marijuana.
LeClair said last Thursday (Sept. 6) at 11 p.m. police officers observed a vehicle fail to stop at a stop sign in Spruce Grove.
He said an odour of alcohol was detected and the 41-year-old Whistler female driver failed a roadside screening device and was given a 90-day suspension and her vehicle impounded for 30 days.
A check stop that same night on Highway 99 and Nickolas North resulted in a 24-hour driving suspension and violation ticket for driving while under the influence of marijuana.
LeClair said a 20-year-old Whistler male driver and passenger were arrested for possession after officers smelled fresh marijuana from the vehicle. A search, he added, resulted in 20 grams of marijuana.
“It is not reasonable to smoke marijuana and then drive,” he said.
On Friday (Sept. 7) at 6:15 p.m. RCMP were notified of a suspected impaired driver by an off-duty officer, who was driving behind the alleged vehicle.
The off-duty officer detained the driver until on-duty officers arrived at a residence in Pemberton in the 7600 block of Meadows Road.
The 63-year-old Pemberton male failed a roadside screening device and received a 90-day driving suspension and had his vehicle impounded for 30 days.
Charges laid after fleeing scene
A Mount Currie woman has been charged with fleeing the scene of an accident.
LeClair said on Saturday (Sept. 8) at 8:30 p.m. police were dispatched to a two-vehicle collision between a pickup truck and an SUV on the In-SHUCK-ch forest service road and Highway 99.
He said emergency services and Tribal Police were also on scene and it is believed the truck hit the SUV, which was parked on the service road, as it was exiting that road onto the highway.
A female passenger from the truck was found on the ground and is believed she was ejected as a result of the collision. She was taken to the medical centre and then transported by helicopter to Vancouver. The female driver of the SUV was also taken to the medical centre with minor injuries and released later that evening.
The alleged 40-year-old female driver of the pickup truck, however, said LeClair was not at the scene and a police dog brought in from Squamish to search for her without success.
“She somehow made her way on foot from the scene and was then taken to the medical centre by family,” he said, adding officers found here there and arrested her. “It appeared she had been drinking.”
She is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 8.
