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Coquitlam ‘No Trespassing’ sign, smoking bylaw lead to arrest of wanted man

Joseph Bullerwell, 43, has a ‘substantial police history’
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(Jorge Franganillo Flickr photo )

A routine check of a tent on public property in Port Coquitlam Thursday led to the arrest of man who’s been wanted for almost two years.

On Oct. 24 at about 2 p.m., the Coquitlam RCMP’s Uniform Crime Reduction Unit was on foot patrol under an overpass in a wooded area near Lougheed Highway and Shaughnessy Street when they came across a tent camped underneath a “No Trespassing” sign.

One of the occupants was also smoking a cigarette in violation of a local smoking bylaw.

In a release Friday, Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said checks of tents and temporary structures on public property are done to ensure the well-being of the people inside and because it’s also common to find people who are wanted or violating their court-ordered conditions.

In this case, the man who was smoking and staying in the tent refused to provide his name.

Coquitlam RCMP officers arrested him and the fingerprints led police to an arrest warrant that was issued in February 2018.

Joseph Bullerwell, a 43-year-old man of no fixed address, is now detained in the Coquitlam RCMP jail until he appears before a judge on a warrant for fail to comply with probation.

Cpl. Michael McLaughlin told Black Press Media Bullerwell has a “substantial police history.”

According to B.C. Court Services Online, the charges in courts located around the province go back to 2002, and range from possession of a controlled substance to theft over $5,000, to possession of a firearm.

READ MORE: Two people found dead in Coquitlam home were father and son



karissa.gall@blackpress.ca

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