Two Estevan area men are facing a number of charges as a result of a day care centre parking lot traffic check by members of the Estevan Police Service (EPS) on the night of June 30.
The men, aged 21 and 22, were charged with impaired driving (they attempted to switch drivers), driving while suspended, public mischief and possession of stolen property. One of the subjects was also charged with having open liquor in the vehicle.
The two men are now also suspects in a vandalism incident that saw the windows of a number of oilfield equipment units damaged in the Benson area that same night.
A 25-year-old man was arrested by EPS members that same night after he was observed dragging a sign down an alley behind the provincial courthouse. He had apparently ripped the board and sign off a fence in the parking lot on the east side of the police station.
A 21-year-old female was also arrested on the night of June 30. She was booked for being intoxicated in public after being found partially disrobed, lying in the grassed area at the Hillside Play Park.
On July 2, EPS members were called to a local lounge to investigate a report of a fight in progress. Police learned that there was no fight and the parties that might have been implicated had left prior to the police arrival.
On July 3, police located a vehicle in the ditch south of the city. They spoke to the driver and it was determined he had been drinking so he was charged with stunting and given a 24-hour driving suspension.
On that same night, police were called to a local lounge in response to a report of a fight. When they arrived, they located an inebriated Estevan man carrying a broom, so he was arrested for being drunk in public and for being in breach of the peace. He was lodged in cells until sober.
A fight at a local lounge required police attention that same night. A female patron at the lounge was injured during the altercation and required medical attention. Emergency medical attendants were called and they transported the woman to the local hospital for treatment of undetermined injuries while the police took the incident into investigation.
A traffic accident on 13th Avenue and King Street at about 3 a.m. July 4 required police attention. A 34-year-old Regina resident was driving a vehicle that had left the road and jumped the centre median before hitting a tree.
Police investigation revealed that the driver had been drinking, so he was given a 24-hour driving suspension and charged with driving without due care and attention.
A 24-year-old Sherwood Park, Alberta man was stopped for speeding and erratic driving that same night, or early morning hours of the next day. The driver was arrested and charged with impaired driving and lodged in cells until sober. He was given a court date for later this month.
EPS members were called upon to look into a variety of motor vehicle accidents that were reported during the early evening hours of July 4.
In one incident a vehicle struck a seven-year-old Estevan boy who had run out from between parked vehicles on a residential street. The boy was taken to hospital with undetermined injuries and the matter remains under investigation.
Numerous tickets were issued to people who were found drinking in vehicles or in public over the weekend. These people have the option of paying a $380 fine for drinking in a vehicle or a $250 fine for drinking in public or they may appear in court in Estevan near the end of August.
As a final note of caution, EPS members remind motorists to be extra cautious when driving near the local play parks in the residential areas. Police note that now school is out for the summer the youngsters are not always mindful of traffic.
