(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Crime remains a regular topic and source of news and it's tough to call them top stories so here, instead, are some of the odder ones we’ve noticed in the last year — particularly because the suspects committing them made some pretty poor choices along the way.

PACKING DRUGS ON A TRIP TO JAIL

An inmate at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre was found with $600 worth of methamphetamine after he 'passed' in through his system shortly after he checked into the jail. The man was later given an extra four extra months in jail for the offence.

BANK BUST BATHROOM BREAK

Two men were arrested in connection with a robbery at a CIBC bank in Kelowna after police pulled over the getaway car and arrested the driver. The passenger, however, took a little longer to take into custody after he took off on foot and was found in the bathroom of a local business by the K9 unit.

CHARGED PORN ON EMPLOYEE EXPENSE CREDIT CARD

A Kamloops mom caught the man who stole her wallet after tracking him through all the credit card purchases he made on her credit cards, including her American Express card she used for work expenses. What did him in was when she called the company he bought a porn subscription from and got his name and address.

THE WINDOW VANDAL

For some reason, a man smashed the front windows of the Thai Fusion restaurant in Kelowna four times this year. Frustrated, the business-owner decided to set up a security camera so he could get some footage of the suspect. It’s unknown if Kelowna RCMP has made an arrest yet.

SELLING ILLEGAL MEAT TO CONSERVATION OFFICERS

Undercover conservation officers approached a Savona butcher to ask him about a man they suspected of selling wild game, a violation under the Wildlife Act, but they were surprised when the butcher told them he could give them a better deal. The officers purchased illegal meat from the butcher three times before he was charged and faced fines in Kamloops Provincial Court.

TRYING TO STEAL A CAR FROM PLAINCLOTHES POLICE

A Penticton man tried to jack a car from two police officers when they were out on patrol in Surrey. After he demanded the vehicle, they told him they were officers and would be arresting him.

SET UP A TAX COMPANY TO DEFRAUD THE GOVERNMENT

Two Okanagan women learned a tax return method called ‘The Remedy’ and created a business in Vernon to use as a base to counsel over 200 others to make false statements in their tax returns. Both women were found guilty and one was sentenced to 22 months of house arrest. The second woman is awaiting sentencing.

IMPORTED 15KG OF BATH SALTS IN THE MAIL

A Kelowna judge found a woman guilty of importing three packages containing synthetic drugs this year, after the parcels were tracked by RCMP. During trial, the woman admitted to setting up a post office box in her name, but said she didn’t know the packages delivered to the address would contain drugs.

STOLE CHAINSAW, LEFT TRUNK OPEN AND CRASHED WHILE FLEEING

A Merritt man was taken into custody after he attempted to steal several items in a neighbourhood. One of those items, a chainsaw, was left in the open trunk of the getaway car. The owner of the chainsaw retrieved it before the suspect fled and crashed his car. He fled on foot but a police dog caught up to him shortly afterward.

BUSTY AND BUSTED

A Kamloops woman pleaded guilty to fraud and stealing a senior citizen’s identity to pay for plastic surgery, including breast implants. The elderly man was listed as a co-signer on a $15,000 loan which she was late paying back. Authorities were able to catch her after matching a rose tattoo on her stomach to a description from the doctor who performed the surgeries.

SPILLED TWO OPEN CANS OF BEER AT AN OFFICER’S FEET

A Lumby man wet-handed for drinking and driving at a traffic stop. An officer noticed the man not wearing his seatbelt and talking on his cellphone but asked him if he’d had anything to drink when he noticed the vehicle smelled like alcohol. The man replied he hadn’t had a drink since yesterday, but dropped two cans of beer at the officers feet when he stepped out of the vehicle. 

DRANK BEER IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

Another Lumby man was too drunk to notice the RCMP vehicle behind him as he sat in the driver’s seat of his car and drank from a can of beer. The man’s vehicle was impounded for a second time as he already was a prohibited driver before the incident.

LIVED IN SOMEONE ELSE’S HOUSE, FED THE CATS, WROTE IN THEIR DIARY

A Nova Scotia man made international headlines this year after he was found guilty of being unlawfully in a ranch home near Kamloops. The home owners were on vacation when the man pulled into the driveway and turned the stranger’s abode into his own bed and breakfast. He also left a little note in the journal to remind himself to ‘relax and take (his) time’.

STOLE A CAR, GOT STUCK IN A SNOWBANK

A Vernon suspect didn’t make it very far when he drove a car he stole only a short distance before getting caught in a snowbank. The owner of the car noticed the vehicle wasn’t where he parked it but he and an officer came across the would-be thief at the right moment.

USES KAYAK AS A GETAWAY IN THE WINTER

During a traffic stop in the Shuswap, a man rammed a police cruiser to avoid being pulled over. He later took off on foot and stole a kayak to paddle by hand across Mara Lake. Officers met him on the other side of the lake a short while later and tracked him by following his footprints in the snow.

BREAK AND ENTER TO STEAL OLD TIRES

An off duty Penticton RCMP officer was walking his dog in late November when he spotted two would-be tire thieves in a fenced compound behind Penticton Canadian Tire.
The two were arrested and charged with break and enter. Was it worth the risk? The fenced compound contained mostly used tires.

HEAVY LIFTING FOR THE PAY

Penticton RCMP were on the lookout for one or more brazen and beefy thieves, or perhaps ones with sore backs after a safe was stolen from a downtown jewellery store in January. The safe’s contents were valued at $10,000, but had to be wrestled from a floor mounting and carried down a flight of stairs. At least they aren't afraid of a little hard work.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2016