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Krestova gunman denied bail

A man is in custody after waving a gun and threatening to kill people at a Krestova residence.
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RCMP set up a road check on Pass Creek Rd. on Friday night

by Chelsea Novak with files from Bill Metcalfe

A man is in custody after waving a gun and threatening to kill people at a Krestova residence.

Laurence Darren McKay, 35, is facing numerous firearms-related charges, including three counts of attempted murder with a firearm, assault with a weapon, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and possession of a firearm contrary to an order.

Around 4 p.m. on Friday, RCMP received a call to a home in the area. “We’d received reports that someone in the residence had pointed a firearm at other people in the house and threatened to kill them, or cause them harm,”explained RCMP inspector Tom Roy. “The people in the residence fled and called the police.”

RCMP officers from Castlegar and Nelson were called in to locate the man who fled in a vehicle. Road checks were set up along roads and highways in the area, including Highway 3A, Pass Creek Rd. and at the Playmor Junction.“We had road checks set up on basically all the roads that could possibly offer a route to get out of the area,” saidRoy.

Approximately two hours later the man was located on Highway 3A near Thrums and arrested without incident. He was in possession of “a couple of firearms” at the time, one of which was an antique revolver stolen from the Trail Museum on July 27.

McKay appeared in court Tuesday afternoon for a bail hearing and was denied bail. He remains in custody and his next court appearance is set for Sept. 13 in Nelson.