Two people from Oliver were arrested in Penticton on Tuesday after being found with various firearms.
As part of an ongoing investigation into property crimes in the South Okanagan, the Penticton South Okanagan Similkameen RCMP Targeted Enforcement Unit arrested four people Tuesday morning.
RCMP officers arrested the individuals at a local motel in Penticton as the group arrived in a pick-up truck. Several uniform officers, plain clothes and a Police Service Dog team converged at the location mid-morning to safely arrest the group.
The two men and two women, all known to police, face a number of charges stemming from the arrests. Police located a loaded handgun, a long gun, various types of ammunition and a large amount of suspected stolen property believed to be from a number of break and enters.
Waylon Faulhafer, 24, of Oliver, faces a number of charges incident including several firearms-related offences, driving offences and possession of stolen property. Faulhaver was also wanted on an arrest warrant for break and enter out of Valemont, BC.
30-year-old Chelsey Thorstensen, also from Oliver, faces a firearms-related offence.
27-year-old Jesse McKnight of Okanagan Falls also faces two firearms-related offences.
All three accused have been remanded into custody and are scheduled to appear in court on January 12. The fourth person arrested was released from custody on a promise to appear.
“Anytime that we can seize illegal firearms and get them off of the streets is a good thing,” stated Cst. Heather Ritcey of the Penticton South Okanagan Similkameen Targeted Enforcement Unit. “These arrests were the result of an intelligence led investigation and coordinated effort between various South Okanagan RCMP detachments.”
