Photo: RCMP FSOC Some of the drugs found in trucker Sarbjit Chahal’s rig. A Surrey trucker has been sentenced to four years in prison after he was found to have smuggled 33 kilograms of methamphetamine into Canada from the United States, BC RCMP announced Aug. 15. Sarbjit Chahal was arrested on November 18, 2018, after Canada Border Services Agency inspected his inbound tractor-trailer at the Pacific Highway border crossing in Surrey. Chahal was charged with importing/exporting a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to traffic under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. A jury trial in New Westminster District Court took place last November, and the jury found him guilty on July 22, police said. Chahal had claimed in court that he knowingly committed the offenses while under duress because he received death threats from a person who had asked him to act as a drug runner, police added. Chahal was sentenced to four years in prison for importing/exporting a controlled substance and two years and six months in prison for the possession charge. The sentences will be served concurrently. Louise Dickson / Times Colonist – August 15, 2022 / 4:35 pm | History: 380340 Photo: . Steven Michael Bacon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Makayla Chang. VIA NANAIMO RCMP Steven Michael Bacon has pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of a Nanaimo teenager five years ago. Sixteen-year-old Makayla Chang disappeared in March 2017. Her body was found two months later. Bacon, 61, was initially charged with the first-degree murder of the teenager he called his ‘Dear Baby Bird’ and ‘the most precious person he ever knew’. She reported her missing to the Nanaimo RCMP. No members of Makayla’s family were present at the BC Supreme Court. on Monday as Bacon, ankle-bound and handcuffed, was ushered into the room by sheriffs. He stared ahead, breathing deeply, wearing a long black t-shirt covered in images of skulls. Bacon, a stocky man with thinning white hair, a bushy beard, glasses and many tattoos, stood and told Judge Robin Baird: “I plead guilty, Your Honor.” Defense attorney Gilbert Lavine asked the judge to order a presentence report. Second degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison. At issue at sentencing will be how much time Bacon must serve to be eligible for parole. Sentencing is expected to take place in early 2023. An agreed statement of facts has been prepared. Crown and defense lawyers are expected to make a joint submission. In April 2017, Nanaimo search and rescue crews combed the Colliery Dam Park and Cat Stream Park ravine area looking for clues to Makayla’s whereabouts. RCMP and a tactical team executed search warrants twice at 609 Bruce Ave., where Bacon lived in the basement suite and where Makayla was known to live. Police searched both inside and outside the property. They also did a grid survey of a vacant property at 601 Bruce Ave. Bacon was arrested in Fredericton, NB, in September 2019 after Nanaimo RCMP put out a Canada-wide appeal for help to identify him as a person of interest in the case. He was charged with Makayla’s murder in September 2020 and pleaded not guilty to the crime in October 2020. Bacon was transferred to Nanaimo from the Central North Correctional Center in Penetanguishene, Ont., where he was being held on other charges. Photo: RCMP Police in Castlegar, BC say they are investigating a homicide. Emergency services were called on August 11, 2022 at approximately 11:30 PM for a report of an unresponsive male near the Castlegar CIBC Bank located at 1801 Columbia Ave. Upon arrival, a man was found dead. The BC RCMP’s major crime unit and the Southeast Region’s major crime unit have now taken over the case and confirmed Monday that the death was a homicide. The victim has been identified as Jean-Luc Noel Levesque, 51, of no fixed address. He was known to travel between several communities in the area. The motive for the homicide is unknown, police said. “Mr. Levesque was not a known resident of Castlegar and as we work to determine what brought him to the area, we believe there are people who may have seen the victim or interacted with him prior to his death. We are asking those people – as well as anyone who may have information about this homicide – to call the police,” said Dawn Roberts, director of BC RCMP Communications. “This is a tragedy and we want closure for Mr. Levesque’s friends and family.” Anyone who may have seen anything or has information about this incident is asked to call Castlegar RCMP at (250) 365-7721. The Canadian Press – August 15, 2022 / 3:10 pm | History: 380343 Photo: The Canadian Press A response vessel with a vacuum truck on board is shown off San Juan Island, Washington, in this recent handout photo. The United States Coast Guard says commercial divers are assessing a sunken fishing vessel that collapsed Saturday in waters on the American side of Haro Strait and is leaking fuel near southern Vancouver Island. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO – US Coast Guard A fishing boat that sank with nearly 10,000 liters of fuel near the Canada-US maritime border has hit one of the worst places for endangered orcas, an ocean pollution expert says. Peter Ross, senior scientist at the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, said the vessel sank in an important feeding area for endangered southern killer whales. It will be a race against time to clean up the spill, he said. “The very disturbing part of this whole incident is that it happened in probably the worst place of all for southern killer whales, right in the middle of critical habitat,” Ross said. The area is protected under the US Endangered Species Act, he said, because it is a popular fishing spot for orcas. Chinook salmon, the whales’ primary prey and a species that faces its own survival challenges, swim along bluffs on San Juan Island, creating a feeding channel for the orcas, he said. There are only 74 resident southern killer whales left, and the federal government says the main threats to the species are pollutants, declining chinook populations and acoustic disturbances. The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that the whales were last spotted west of Port Angeles, at least 50 kilometers from the spill site, but Ross said that’s no more than a day’s travel for the orcas. The Aleutian Island sank on Saturday off San Juan Island, about 25 kilometers east of Victoria, and its five crew members were rescued by a Good Samaritan, the US Coast Guard said. The vessel is under about 30 meters of water and its fuel included diesel, motor oil and other various oils. Officials have not determined what caused the sinking. On Monday, the coast guard’s Pacific Northwest division said a dive team was looking for the best way to secure the vents on the vessel so the tanks could be evacuated. Petty Officer Michael Clark told The Associated Press that a flare had entered Canadian waters and there was concern for southern resident killer whales that were last seen near the southern tip of San Juan Island but drifted away toward Port Angeles. By Monday afternoon, they were located west of Port Angeles, “well away from the spill,” the Coast Guard said. A safety zone has been established around the response area and all vessels must stay at least 914 meters from any diving vessel, it said. No whales have been spotted in the affected area and personnel are on scene to prevent marine mammals from approaching. There have been no reports of oily wildlife and air quality levels remain below harmful limits, it said. However, Ross warned that the threat is not over. If the whales return to the area, diesel fumes could be “extremely toxic” to them if inhaled. The risk depends on the volume and wind levels at the time of exposure. “This can cause significant damage if it’s in the right concentration, and if there’s no wind to disperse it,” he said. Diesel can also enter the food chain, starting with the biofilm on the surface of ocean water, if it is ingested by bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton. A pressing concern, too, is identifying exactly what types of oil and other fuels are on board, he said. Given the threats facing the endangered whales, it’s critical that divers locate the fuel, stop the leaks and possibly work to recover the vessel, he said. “This is an environmental emergency,” he said. Conservationists are also monitoring the effects on salmon, but that may depend on how officials handle the spill. Misty MacDuffee, Raincoast’s wild salmon program manager, said the spill is happening as salmon and other migratory species return to the Fraser River. Fish need to be safe from surface water fuel as they spend most of their time deeper. However, he cautioned against using dispersants to manage the oil because it involves breaking the stains into smaller droplets that can distribute the toxins through the water column. “That’s when it becomes deadly,” MacDuffee said. Oil can also pile up on shorelines with catastrophic consequences, he said. The Canadian Coast Guard said in an email that it stands ready to assist as needed, while several other U.S. agencies are also helping to contain any oil, monitor the path of the spill and monitor affected wildlife. Vice-Captain-Director. Brian Dykens said in a statement that the government and industry partners were working to develop “an effective and efficient containment and recovery response”. “The local public, the environment and protected marine species are our first priority,” he said. Allie Turner / Vancouver is Awesome – August 15, 2022 / 2:47 pm History: 380325 Photo: BC SPCA. There are now 140 bunnies in care after a seizure…
