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Garage fire reveals Wynndel grow-op

Creston RCMP opened 93 new files from June 6-12, Staff Sgt. Gord Stewart said on Monday...

Creston RCMP opened 93 new files from June 6-12, Staff Sgt. Gord Stewart said on Monday. One resulted when Wynndel firefighters learned that where there is fire, there is also smoke.

A Wynndel homeowner came close to extinguishing a fire in his garage with a garden hose on June 10. Close wasn’t quite enough, though. Once the Wynndel-Lakeview Fire Department finished putting the fire out, volunteers found the building housed a marijuana grow-op.

Creston RCMP obtained a search warrant under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the subsequent investigation revealed that the garage housed more than 400 plants in various stages of growth.

A 42-year-old male was arrested on the scene and was later released with a court date pending. He faces charges of production of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.

In other police news, nine files came from a renewed effort to track people with court-ordered curfews.

Stewart said the Creston detachment has designed a new system of keeping track of offenders who have been ordered by the courts to keep a curfew. Frustrated at statistics for the last fiscal year that indicated only modest success in tracking the offenders, Stewart has instituted a new approach in which RCMP constables will be assigned files, making it their responsibility to conduct regular curfew checks.

June 6

•A male was arrested after a female in the 900 block of 32nd Avenue reported that he was sending her threatening text messages. He was released with an order to have no contact with her and has a court appearance pending.

•Dogs were reported to have killed poultry in the 700 block of Wynndel Road. When located, the owner of the dogs was unaware of the animals’ activity.

•Police have asked Edmonton city police to help investigate harassing phone calls to a Murdoch Street resident.

•Police kept the peace while a male retrieved his belongings from a residence in the 900 block of 32nd Avenue.

June 7

•An alarm at a Dogwood Street veterinarian’s office was caused by a deer that set off motion detectors inside the building.

•Police are investigating a report that an intoxicated male attempted to communicate with a group of youths in the 1500 block of Northwest Boulevard.

•A female in the 900 block of 11th Avenue South reported being scammed when she attempted to purchase Canucks playoff hockey tickets from a Craigslist seller.

•No injuries were reported after a vehicle collided with a deer 45 kilometres west of Creston on Highway 3.

June 8

•Two vehicles in the 300 block of Northwest Boulevard were rummaged through. Nothing was stolen.

•When police contacted the sender of threatening text messages to a female in the 1100 block of Ash Street, the offender agreed to stop the activity.

•A small quantity of cash was stolen from an unlocked vehicle in the 400 block of Ninth Avenue North.

•A 39-year-old female was arrested for breaching probation by consuming alcohol and having contact with a specific male. She was later released for a pending court appearance.

June 9

•When police located the owner of a blue GMC Jimmy reported to be an ongoing problem with speeding and erratic driving, the owner — the driver’s parent — said he would take care of the problem.

•When police located the driver of a green Ford pickup that left the Creston Valley Hospital parking lot after hitting a blue Ford pickup, the drivers agreed to resolve the issue privately.

•A complaint was received from a business in the 1100 block of Canyon Street about an upset customer who was causing a disturbance.

June 10

•A complaint by a female in the 1900 block of Elm Street that she and her cat were bitten by an unknown dog, possibly a pit bull terrier, was referred to the Town of Creston bylaw department.

•A youth admitted to stealing a safe during a break-in to a residence in the 1700 block of Erickson Road.

•A female 911 caller in the 2600 block of Erickson Road said the call was the result of her being unfamiliar with a new cell phone.

June 11

•A Whimster Road resident reported that his 1998 Chevy pickup was stolen overnight from his place of work. The vehicle was located nearby, undamaged.

•The safe stolen from the 600 block of 16th Avenue South was recovered and returned to its owner.

June 12

•When police located a 1996 Honda Civic reported to be in the control of a possibly impaired driver the driver failed one alcohol screening device test and refused to provide a second. He was issued a 90-day driving prohibition and the car was impounded for 30 days.

•An 11.5-foot aluminum boat with a blue interior was stolen from the Duck Lake boat launch.

•An Alberta motorcyclist who crashed his Yamaha near Boswell was taken to hospital with a broken collarbone and broken wrist.

•When police attended to a dirty and bloodied female in the 3500 block of Erickson Road she refused to co-operate, saying she had been in a consensual fight. She also declined a ride to the hospital.