A Slocan couple is facing charges following a brief armed standoff with police last week.
Slocan Lake RCMP say around 10 a.m. on March 18, a man complained about a domestic dispute with his common law wife. Police were told the pair had consumed a large amount of ketamine.
When an officer arrived at the home, he couldn’t find anyone but discovered a large marijuana grow operation. He then located the man on the street and told him he was under arrest for drug production.
Cst. Shaun Foley says the man resisted arrest by refusing to cooperate and “pulling away from the officer’s grasp … The man was exhibiting paranoia, agitation, and apprehensiveness.”
When a second officer arrived, the man was asked to take his hands out of his pockets.
“There was concern for public and officer safety based on the subject’s behaviour and actions,” Foley said in a news release.
The man then produced a box cutter, initiating a short standoff. However, one of the officers talked to the man until he calmed down, “bringing the arrest to a safe conclusion.”
Police still didn’t know the whereabouts of the woman reported to be the suspect in the domestic dispute.
“Given the circumstances and not knowing if the woman was hurt or overdosed somewhere, police mobilized dog services and assistance from neighbouring detachments,” Foley says.
However, a short time after her boyfriend’s arrest, the woman returned home fine. She was also arrested in connection with the grow-op.
Police executed a search warrant on the property that evening and seized about 350 plants as well as dried bud, several grams of magic mushrooms, and “items believed to be contaminated with ketamine.”
Charges of drug possession and production are pending against the couple, while the man is also charged with resisting arrest and possession of a weapon.
No charges have been laid in the initial domestic dispute, but it remains under investigation.
Foley called the incident “an example of the ever-present and unpredictable dangers” police face when dealing with domestic violence and people high on drugs.