A local teenager facing charges related to spray paint “tagging” has been arrested for drug dealing.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named, was arrested last Friday in Robron Park. According to Crown prosecutor Bruce Goddard, Mounties found the youth with three baggies containing 7.3 grams of white powder that “field tested positive” for either MDMA or ecstasy.
Officers also found 10 tablets of Tylenol 3 which contain codeine. The youth and his girlfriend, noted Goddard, were both “verbally aggressive” towards the arresting officers.
The boy was held in the RCMP detachment over the weekend and appeared in Campbell River provincial court on Monday afternoon.
As of Monday, he had not been charged with drug trafficking, but he is charged with breaching his curfew on Jan. 14. On that night, police were conducting a curfew check and the youth was not found at home.
He’s on a curfew due to a bail order stemming from two charges of
mischief related to tagging incidents around the city. The trial on the mischief charges begins Friday in provincial court.
According to defence lawyer James Hormoth, the arrest of the youth last Friday was a “heavy-handed police takedown.” Hormoth also suggested there may be no forthcoming trafficking charges.
The youth was released into his mother’s care. He was ordered to have no spray paint or tagging items, and no weapons. He also cannot have any contact with his girlfriend.