On March 19 the Nelson Police Department received a complaint of an e-mail scam designed to obtain money from a Nelson senior citizen. The senior had been conned into sending money to an undisclosed location to a person identifying themselves as his girlfriend. In exchange for a considerable amount of money the culprit had been sending photographs of a compromising nature to the senior citizen in Nelson. Sadly, because of a debilitating disease associated to advanced age, the senior citizen is not capable of comprehending that he is being taken advantage of. The Nelson Police and people close to the senior have taken steps to protect him from the unidentified predator.
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While conducting a routine vehicle patrol at the Chako Mika Mall a member of the Nelson Police Department found himself to be an uninvited spectator to a game of “push the shopping buggy through the parking lot with your car”. Two local young adults propelled a shopping cart with their car until the buggy flew across the parking lot at high speed narrowly missing a parked transport truck. The males were taken into custody for criminal mischief while the officer assessed the damage.
Fortunately for the men there was minimal damage to the shopping buggy. Both males were released without charge after receiving a verbal warning from the officer.
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Art or not? There is no denying that Nelson displays it’s fair share of graffiti. Some people see these tags as a creative art form while others view the tags as the defacing of a beautiful community. Whatever side of the fence you see the issue from there is no denying that the application of graffiti to public or private property without expressed permission may constitute criminal mischief.
During the early morning hours of March 20 an alert officer of the NPD observed large fresh graffiti tags in the 300 block of Herridge Lane. The paint used to produce the tags was still tacky and running down the walls. The first officer was joined by a second officer known for his ability to tenaciously pursue fresh clues. Due to the fresh snow fall the officer was able to put his highly developed “Man tracking” skills to use and followed the fresh sign from the first tag to a second, garden fresh, graffiti tag. With their noses to the ground the officers continued to follow the footprints in the snow to a discarded paint can and lid. The highly visible foot prints continued in the new snow for blocks, over city streets, sidewalks, through private property, through businesses and a school yard.
The determined officers doggedly tracked the suspects to a private residence approximately 10 blocks from the first discovery. As a result of the investigative steps taken, an adult male suspect from Nelson has been identified. The man has a documented history of graffiti in Nelson and as a result of his actions may be facing a criminal charge for mischief. The matter is still under investigation.
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The following night the same officer continued his graffiti fighting spree and observed a young Nelson man marking a building on Josephine Street. A male was stopped and searched. A black marker was recovered from his possession as a result of the search. The suspect assured the officer that he was an artist. The determined officer gathered further evidence from the area and contemplated recommending a criminal charge of Mischief against the male. The suspect offered a sincere apology and sought an informal resolution.
After interviewing the male the officer decided to give the suspect a chance of redemption. The officer explained that as long as the tag was removed and the wall was restored to the original condition by the following day then he would not proceed with criminal charges.
By the following evening the wall had been restored to its original condition.