Friday, October 16, 2009

ILLEGAL GAMBLING CRACKDOWN-POLICE LAY CHARGES IN ILLEGAL GAMBLING INVESTIGATION

(Thessallon Ontario) – Members of the Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau - Illegal Gambling Unit in conjunction with members of the East Algoma Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police and Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau Drug Enforcement Unit Sault-Ste Marie executed a search warrant at a local business on the Thessalon First Nation on October I6, 2009.

Officers in the Illegal Gambling Unit initiated the investigation after receiving complaints from the Thessalon First Nation Community regarding illegal video gaming machines. The investigation revealed that illegal payouts were being provided from video gambling devices at Rob’s Variety, located at 27 Maple Ridge Road, Thessalon First Nation.
As a result, police were able to execute a search warrant and the following people were charged with various Criminal Code offences:

1) SIMON, Robert, Stanley, (male) age 54 of Thessalon First Nation

Charged with;
Keep a common gaming house
Keep a common gaming house – owner permit
Keep Machines for gambling

2) BOULRICE-SIMON, Shawna (female) age 23 of Thessalon First Nation

Charged with;
Keep a common gaming house
Keep machines for gambling
Possession for the purpose of trafficking (marihuana)

3) OLIVER, Brianne (female) age 18 of Thessalon First Nation

Charged with;
Keep a common gaming house
Keep machines for gambling

4) Young Offender (female) of Thessalon First Nation, cannot be named due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Charged with;
Keep a common gaming house
Keep machines

The accused are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 10:00 am at 266 Main Street Thessalon, Ontario.

Officers seized a total of eight (8) slot machines, approx $1,500 in cash, over 20 grams of individually packaged marihuana and other related paraphernalia.

The Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, Illegal gambling Unit is a provincial partnership between eight police services in Ontario including Peel, York, London, Durham, Windsor, Hamilton, Ottawa and the OPP. The partnership is responsible for the investigation of province-wide illegal gambling activities with an emphasis on organized crime.


SPEEDERS CHARGED

(White River) – On October 14, 2009 at approximately 1:20 pm Superior East officers conducted a directed RADAR blitz on Highway 17 at the junction of Highway 631 in White River. The speed limit through this area is posted at 60 kilometres per hour and as a result of this enforcement, 12 Provincial Offence Notices were issued over a one hour period with speeds ranging as high as 20 kilometres over the posted limit.

SCHOOL BUS REGULATIONS – Recently Superior East members have been receiving complaints of motorists not stopping for school buses while the buses are dropping off or picking up students at various locations. Motorists are reminded that when a school bus is stopped with its red overhead lights flashing and STOP arm extended every driver shall stop before reaching the bus and shall not proceed until the bus moves or the overhead red flashing lights have stopped flashing. Fines for a first offence range from $400.00 to $2000.00 plus 6 demerit points. Subsequent offences will result in fines of $1,000.00 to $4,000.00 or to imprisonment for 6 months or both.

R.I.D.E. – Superior East officers conducted several RIDE checks throughout the patrol area resulting in several vehicles being checked with no infractions noted.