Photo: Coquitlam RCMP
RCMP arrested a man who has been wanted for almost two years after he trespassed on public property in Port Coquitlam.
At around 2 p.m. on Oct. 24, the Coquitlam RCMP’s Uniform Crime Reduction Unit was on foot patrol under an overpass in a wooded area near Lougheed Highway and Shaughnessy Street. The unit discovered a tent camped right underneath a 'No Trespassing' sign, and one of the tent's occupants was also smoking a cigarette in violation of a local smoking bylaw.
"Checks of tents and temporary structures on public property are done for good reasons," says Corporal Michael McLaughlin with Coquitlam RCMP.
"First of all, we are checking the well-being of the people inside, but it’s also common to find people who are wanted or violating their court-ordered conditions."
When RCMP officers asked the man for his name, he refused to provide it. As a result, they were forced to arrest him and that lead to obtaining his fingerprints. The fingerprints led police to an arrest warrant that was issued in February of 2018.
Joseph Bullerwell, 43, has no fixed address and is now detained in the Coquitlam RCMP jail until he appears before a judge on a warrant for fail to comply with probation.
