Crime

Former Vancouver Whitecaps and Canada U-20 women’s soccer coach Bob Birarda arrives at provincial court for a sentencing hearing, in North Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Birarda, 55, pleaded guilty in February to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching for offences involving four different people between 1988 and 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

2-year sentence for former B.C. soccer coach Bob Birarda on sex charges

16 months to be spent in jail, 8 months in community

Former Vancouver Whitecaps and Canada U-20 women’s soccer coach Bob Birarda arrives at provincial court for a sentencing hearing, in North Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Birarda, 55, pleaded guilty in February to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching for offences involving four different people between 1988 and 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Golden RCMP respond to 234 calls for service in October

There were 15 vehicle collisions with one fatality last month

A screenshot from a police-provided video taken near South Delta Secondary School on Oct. 31, 2022 shows fireworks being shot by a large gathering of youths. Delta police are investigating possible assaults and property damage from the night. (Screenshot/Delta Police Department)

VIDEO: Delta police investigating fireworks-involved assaults after Halloween gathering

Police say hundreds of youth gathered on Oct. 31, causing property damage and targeting pedestrians

A screenshot from a police-provided video taken near South Delta Secondary School on Oct. 31, 2022 shows fireworks being shot by a large gathering of youths. Delta police are investigating possible assaults and property damage from the night. (Screenshot/Delta Police Department)
Oliver RCMP have arrested multiple people over the last two weeks, following a series of break-ins and thefts. (File photo)

Pair arrested while Oliver faces rash of 6 break-ins over 2-week span

RCMP concerned by more than 10 business break-ins in Oliver since Oct. 10

Oliver RCMP have arrested multiple people over the last two weeks, following a series of break-ins and thefts. (File photo)
Shawn Lamaroux, of Vernon was expected in Penticton Supreme Court facing 7 counts of robbery but BC Prosecution confirms the file closed because he is deceased. (Facebook)

Man charged in month-long Okanagan-wide crime spree is dead

Shawn Lamaroux, 37, was charged in robberies from Osoyoos, Penticton to West Kelowna and Vernon

Shawn Lamaroux, of Vernon was expected in Penticton Supreme Court facing 7 counts of robbery but BC Prosecution confirms the file closed because he is deceased. (Facebook)
Child sex offender Shaun Deacon has been sentenced for shoplifting and breaching his conditions in April. (Photo courtesy of the Abbotsford Police Department)

Child sex offender who has broken numerous supervision orders to live in the Lower Mainland

Shaun Deacon has been in and out of prison for breaking court-ordered conditions

Child sex offender Shaun Deacon has been sentenced for shoplifting and breaching his conditions in April. (Photo courtesy of the Abbotsford Police Department)
Shawn Titus will spend 114 days in jail for possessing child porn. (File photo)

Youth sex offender from Osoyoos sentenced to 114 days for child pornography possession

Shawn Titus was arrested at an Osoyoos in 2020

Shawn Titus will spend 114 days in jail for possessing child porn. (File photo)
Transaction image obtained after theft victim’s card was used. (Facebook/Holly Boucher)

Alleged thief gives up stolen wallet after confrontation at Chilliwack store

Victim caught up with alleged thief by following trail of purchases through mobile banking

Transaction image obtained after theft victim’s card was used. (Facebook/Holly Boucher)
RCMP look for information on hit and run (File photo)

Significant injuries following hit and run in Black Mountain

A man was hit by a vehicle while riding his scooter in Kelowna

RCMP look for information on hit and run (File photo)
RCMP are not releasing any information on the bodies found in Summerland in August. (File photo)

RCMP Major Crimes won’t release any information on bodies found in Summerland

The suspects in the Summerland killings died in a crash the next day

RCMP are not releasing any information on the bodies found in Summerland in August. (File photo)
Barb Presseau, seen here on Oct. 21, 2022, is upset the man who killed her son Doug on July 7, 2017 downtown Chilliwack is set for statutory release on or near Nov. 19, 2022. Kirkland Russell was sentenced to eight years for the killing. (Paul Henderson/ Chilliwack Progress)

OPINION: Mother of B.C. man stabbed to death outraged over killer’s imminent release

Barbara Presseau wants public to know that offenders only serve two-thirds of sentences behind bars

Barb Presseau, seen here on Oct. 21, 2022, is upset the man who killed her son Doug on July 7, 2017 downtown Chilliwack is set for statutory release on or near Nov. 19, 2022. Kirkland Russell was sentenced to eight years for the killing. (Paul Henderson/ Chilliwack Progress)
A San Francisco Police Department vehicle parks outside the home of Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in San Francisco, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. David DePape, accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California home and severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended former President Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

VIDEO: What is known about the attack on Speaker Pelosi’s husband

Suspect is a former Powell River, B.C. resident

A San Francisco Police Department vehicle parks outside the home of Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in San Francisco, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. David DePape, accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California home and severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have made racist and often rambling posts online, including some that questioned the results of the 2020 election, defended former President Donald Trump and echoed QAnon conspiracy theories. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
FILE - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her husband, Paul Pelosi, arrive at the State Department for the Kennedy Center Honors State Department Dinner, Dec. 7, 2019, in Washington. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, was “violently assaulted” by an assailant who broke into their San Francisco home early Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, and he is now in the hospital and expected to make a full recovery, said her spokesman, Drew Hammill. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

Accused in attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband went to school in Armstrong

AP source: Assailant shouted ‘Where is Nancy?” in attack

FILE - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her husband, Paul Pelosi, arrive at the State Department for the Kennedy Center Honors State Department Dinner, Dec. 7, 2019, in Washington. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, was “violently assaulted” by an assailant who broke into their San Francisco home early Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, and he is now in the hospital and expected to make a full recovery, said her spokesman, Drew Hammill. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)
FILE - Paul Pelosi, right, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of California, follows his wife as she arrives for her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home targeted in attack on husband

AP source: Assailant shouted ‘Where is Nancy?” in attack

FILE - Paul Pelosi, right, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of California, follows his wife as she arrives for her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Chase RCMP investigate two suspicious instances. (Black Press file photo)

Chase RCMP investigate the case of the suspicious blanket

Two concerned citizens saw a suspicious shape on the South Thompson River

Chase RCMP investigate two suspicious instances. (Black Press file photo)
Merritt RCMP are looking for this white van thatw as at 7-Eleven in Merritt on the evening of Oct. 25, 2022. (Merritt RCMP)

Possible attempted child luring at gas station in Merritt

Cops looking for white van

Merritt RCMP are looking for this white van thatw as at 7-Eleven in Merritt on the evening of Oct. 25, 2022. (Merritt RCMP)
Actors dressed in Halloween costumes each wore a mask of one of the most wanted individuals. (Photo: Anna Burns)

List of B.C.’s ‘scariest and least-wanted trick-or-treaters’ unveiled with actors

Crime Stoppers offers reward of up to $5,000 for anonymous information that leads to an arrest

Actors dressed in Halloween costumes each wore a mask of one of the most wanted individuals. (Photo: Anna Burns)
(Black Press Media Creative)

Jury sides with Kevin Spacey over Anthony Rapp in Federal Court

By Staff Black Press Media

(Black Press Media Creative)
Vancouver police officers are seen near a homeless man’s tent where a female member of the RCMP was stabbed to death in Burnaby, B.C. Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. Police have become de facto social workers for people who lack support services while struggling with homelessness, mental illness and substance use, a spokesman for the Vancouver Police Department says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Cops at risk of violence when dealing with mentally ill, homeless: Vancouver officer

Shaelyn Yang was working on a mental health and outreach team when she was stabbed to death at park

Vancouver police officers are seen near a homeless man’s tent where a female member of the RCMP was stabbed to death in Burnaby, B.C. Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. Police have become de facto social workers for people who lack support services while struggling with homelessness, mental illness and substance use, a spokesman for the Vancouver Police Department says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang is seen in an undated RCMP handout photo.Members of British Columbia’s Taiwanese Canadian community are paying tribute to Const.Yang, a Burnaby Mountie who was stabbed to death in the line of duty this week.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, B.C. RCMP *MANDATORY CREDIT*

B.C. Taiwanese Canadian community pays tribute to slain RCMP officer Shaelyn Yang

Fallen officer’s passion, dedication and ability to be a role model cited

RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang is seen in an undated RCMP handout photo.Members of British Columbia’s Taiwanese Canadian community are paying tribute to Const.Yang, a Burnaby Mountie who was stabbed to death in the line of duty this week.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, B.C. RCMP *MANDATORY CREDIT*