Man waves before fleeing
Merritt RCMP eventually managed to apprehend a man who fled from a traffic stop last Wednesday.
After police signalled him to stop on Highway 8, Leonard Dale Wagner, 54, finally pulled over on Torgeson Road before pleading guilty to operating a vehicle in a manner dangerous to the public, and willfully falsifying documents.
“He had a valid drivers’ license, but didn’t have insurance,” said Merritt RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore. “The tag on his license plate said it was insured, but he altered the decal on the plate to give it a different date. It was forged.”
He was brought into the Merritt RCMP Detachment where police questioned him.
Wagner appeared in court Thursday where he pleaded guilty, was fined $1,400 and given a one year driving prohibition.
“Normally they appear in court the next day, but they don’t plead guilty right away,” Dunsmore said. “A lot of the time they will ask to speak to council. This time it was pretty short and sweet.”
Dunsmore said police initially intended to pull the vehicle over because of a burned-out light, or a similar issue.
Wagner “waved” at police before fleeing, Dunmore said.
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