Crime & Courts

Nanaimo man facing sexual assault charge after alleged Victoria Rd. incident

NANAIMO - A sexual assault charge has been laid against a local man following a reported altercation in the city's downtown.Brett Gordon Ranger, 33, faces the single count following an alleged inciden...

Mar 28, 2023

VIDEO: Lantzville businessman charged with mischief after baseball bat attack

NANAIMO - A mischief charge has been approved against a well-known Lantzville man following a case of mistaken identity.Police allege Stanley Pottie swung a baseball bat at four people inside a pickup...

Mar 21, 2023

Major Crime unit investigation after body found in Ladysmith

LADYSMITH - Police are investigating after a body was found at the south end of Ladysmith on the shore of Davis Lagoon.On Wednesday, March 8 around 1:10 p.m., Ladysmith RCMP were called to the area of...

Mar 10, 2023

'There are five dead already:' Nanaimo man sentenced for reporting fake school shooting

NANAIMO - A mental health breakdown was behind numerous bogus 911 calls from a man reporting multiple people were dead during a south Nanaimo school shooting.Douglas Aaron Edward Collier, 35, was hand...

Mar 06, 2023

B.C. introduces new legislation to protect against the sharing of intimate images without consent

VICTORIA - B.C.'s attorney general has proposed a new bill to protect people against the sharing of their intimate images without permission, as police warn of the growing problem of so-called sextort...

Mar 06, 2023

Concerns illuminated during Northfield-Bowen neighbourhood safety audit

NANAIMO - Preliminary safety audit findings in a central city neighbourhood mirror what's being reported elsewhere in the community - people don't feel safe.Compiled by fourth year VIU criminology stu...

Mar 06, 2023

Woman handed house arrest for theft from Nanaimo church, including pricey espresso machine

NANAIMO - An overnight break-in and theft of numerous valuables from a local church resulted in guilty pleas, house arrest and a restitution bill.Penny Raines, 63, who has a detailed criminal record, ...

Mar 04, 2023

Bail denied to co-accused in fatal stabbing attack at Nanaimo's Maffeo Sutton Park

NANAIMO - A provincial court judge swiftly rejected a bail application by one of two men charged with manslaughter in the shocking death of a man with special needs.Mark Jayden Harrison, 19, waved to ...

Mar 02, 2023

'It changed a lot of people's lives:' Nanaimo home explosion relived one year later

NANAIMO - One year ago a widely heard and felt explosion blew a Nanaimo home into thousands of pieces.The shocking incident is still impacting many lives, while answers behind how the blast occurred a...

Feb 27, 2023

Oceanside parent loses $32,000 through cruel 'your child is in jail' scam

PARKSVILLE - A local parent lost thousands of dollars as part of a phone scam in which she was told her daughter was in jail and required immediate assistance. The Oceanside parent made two separate "...

Feb 22, 2023