Whitewood man facing charges after complaint about armed driver

On the heels of a large police callout regarding an armed man in a vehicle, a Whitewood man is facing a raft of charges.

According to information from the RCMP issued Friday, police from the White Butte detachment were called at about 6:20 a.m. on Thursday for an armed man reportedly seen in a vehicle east of Regina and north of Inland Drive.

Police said they arrived to find a driver in possession of a handgun.

“Officers immediately positioned themselves to safety and ordered the driver to drop the gun and exit the vehicle,” RCMP said in a news release. “The driver remained in the vehicle and attempted to drive away, but the vehicle was stuck.”

Additional officers — from Moose Jaw, Lumsden, Combined Traffic Services Section, Southey and Regina Police Dog Services — were called and they set up a perimeter until the Saskatchewan RCMP Emergency Response Team could get there. The team arrived shortly after and took a man into custody without injuries.

Police also found approximately seven grams of what is believed to be meth as well as more than $600 in cash.

Police searched the vehicle and reportedly turned up a scale, a handgun and an additional gram of suspected meth. Police said the gun didn’t have either a magazine or ammunition.

Both the vehicle and the licence plate were later found to have been stolen.

A 26-year-old man from Whitewood faces charges that include uttering threats, possession of a restricted firearm, careless use of a firearm, possession of a restricted weapon while prohibited, pointing a firearm, possession of a drug for the purpose of trafficking, impaired driving by drug and four counts of possession of stolen property.

His first court appearance was set for Friday afternoon in Regina, at which time additional charges were spoken to, among them an allegation he broke into a Whitewood residence on Wednesday and stole the gun in question.

The Crown opposed his release and his charges were set over to Feb. 28.