NEWS RELEASE
YORK REGIONAL POLICE
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York Regional Police is once again thanking members of our community who are helping us keep our roads safe after multiple charges, including firearms offences, were laid against a 54-year-old man following a call to 911 from a concerned citizen who reported a suspected impaired driver.
On Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, shortly after 1:30 a.m., officers responded to a report of a suspected impaired driver in the parking lot of a coffee shop located at 9151 Keele St., which is located in the area of Keele Street and Rutherford Road, in the City of Vaughan.
When officers arrived, they located the vehicle that was running, with a man in the driver’s seat. When officers spoke with the driver, they could smell alcohol and saw open beer cans inside the car.
The driver was given a roadside breath test which he failed and was placed under arrest. During a further search of the vehicle, prior to it being impounded, officers located a loaded handgun and a box of ammunition on the front passenger floor.
Charged:
54-year-old man from the City of Richmond Hill
Charges include:
- Impaired Operation
- 80 Plus
- Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
- Possession of a Restricted Firearm with Ammunition
- Firearm Possession Contrary to Prohibition Order
- Careless Storage of a Firearm
The investigation is ongoing.
In 2019, York Regional Police received 3,500 calls to 9-1-1 to report suspected impaired drivers as part of our Safe Roads, Your Call program. That was an increase of nearly 18 per cent from the previous year. Many of those calls led to the more than 1,700 impaired-related criminal charges laid.
If you see dangerous driving or behaviors on the road that could jeopardize the safety of motorists and pedestrians, you are encouraged to call 9-1-1 immediately.
York Regional Police continues to remind residents that the safest amount of alcohol or drugs to consume before you drive is zero.
We’re not giving up.
For more information, contact York Regional Police Corporate Communications at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 2664.
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