Tuesday, December 11, 2018 | Your community newspaper since 1916
CITIZEN PHOTO BY BRENT BRAATEN
The gift of reading Donna Zellman, Rudy Zellman, Gail Thomson, Al Beeson, Tim Thompson and Shirley Gratton, far right, from the BC Hydro Power Pioneers, presents Sandra Wyatt, second from right, child life specialist in the pediatric ward, with more than 100 books to give to children in hospital.
Man charged in three-vehicle crash Pack a Police Car Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff mnielsen@pgcitizen.ca A 34-year-old man with a history of trying to evade police while behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle faces five charges from his arrest Friday at the scene of a three-vehicle collision. Paul Daniel Shaw faces two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and one count each of possession of stolen property over $5,000, dangerous driving and fleeing police. Shaw was apprehended near the corner of 15th Avenue and Ewert Street after police were alerted that a 2010 Chevrolet pickup truck had been stolen from the parking lot of a Prince George business. When plainclothes RCMP tried to box the vehicle in, the driver made “overt efforts to escape the area” and collided with a civilian vehicle and an unmarked police truck. Shaw was last in the news in December 2013 when he was sentenced to a further 669 days behind bars followed by 18 months probation for dangerous driving, possession of stolen property and possession for the purpose of trafficking. That outcome stemmed from an October 2013 incident when an RCMP officer recognized Shaw, who had been issued a three-year driving prohibition for a December
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SHAW 2011 conflict with police, as he was driving along River Road. It turned out he was driving a 2006 Ford F-350 pickup truck. Knowing Shaw’s reputation, police deployed a spike belt near the Cameron Street Bridge to intercept him, but he drove over it and continued for nearly two more kilometres and then rammed a police vehicle on North Nechako Road. Police were then able to surround the truck and bring it to a halt but, despite warnings from RCMP, he attempted to flee out the passenger side. However, he was quickly apprehended by a police dog and taken to hospital with minor bite wounds. Significant quantities of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine were found on Shaw, police said
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at the time of that incident. In December 2012, Shaw was sentenced to 11 months in jail for an incident 12 months before. In that case, an RCMP member responded to a call about a man sleeping in a running vehicle in the parking lot of a 900-block Abhau Street apartment building. The member woke Shaw to see if he was alright. Shaw then put the vehicle in gear and rammed five vehicles and two police cars before escaping. He was arrested later that day. In September 2011, Shaw was sentenced to 30 days in jail for one count of possession of a break-in instrument and two counts of breach of an undertaking or recognizance following a March 2011 incident in which three police cars were rammed with a stolen truck. Shaw had originally been charged with theft over $5,000, failure to stop at the scene of an accident, possession of stolen property over $5,000, flight from a peace officer and dangerous driving. But he had been arrested while on foot about four hours after the vehicle had been abandoned and could not be linked to the event beyond reasonable doubt, so those charges were stayed. In December 2016, Shaw was sentenced to 263 days in jail for possession for the purpose of trafficking. He had been in custody for 67 days prior to sentencing.
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benefits local seniors Simultaneously there was a fundraising convergence of police vehicles that parked outside of the four Save-On-Foods locations in Prince George on Sunday. It was still early for a real rush to take place at about 11 a.m. but the annual Pack A Police Car event saw several shoppers exiting the building at Parkwood with a bag or two or three filled with what’s on the Christmas wish list of the Prince George Council of Seniors who are donating about 200 hampers to those seniors in need during what to some is a tough time of year. At Parkwood Mall’s Save-On location City of Prince George support staff for RCMP worker Aralee Hryciuk volunteered to take the first shift at the back of the police van loading up donations as fast as shoppers could pack them out of the store. On the way in people could take a list with them, which was provided by the volunteers so the guess work was taken out of deciding on what to purchase.
This was the third annual public event. For about a decade before that the police station workers would conduct their own fundraiser within the department and donate proceeds to the council of seniors. Another staffer, Bev Livingstone, said she saw the police department in Hinton was doing the fundraising campaign in their community and she brought it to Prince George. “I thought ‘we’re a bigger detachment, we can do more,’” Livingstone said. “So I threw the idea out there.” The response was resoundingly positive, she said. And still is. “There was $4,000 in cash and gift cards collected last year and 22 police cars were filled and we’re always looking to beat our last year’s total and so we’re looking for even more donations this year,” Livingstone said. “It’s always so humbling for us to come out here and see all these people donating to the cause.” She said there are many times when she’s heard children encouraging their parents to donate to the seniors and it warms her heart to see that in the community’s young people. — see ‘THIS EVENT, page 3
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Christine HINZMANN Citizen staff chinzmann@pgcitizen.ca
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