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Suspect in dramatic takedown to make plea

Accused in Tappen Esso robbery scheduled to choose guilty or not guilty in Salmon Arm court
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An officer draws a weapon about 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 on the Trans-Canada Highway between Alexander Street and Ross Street in Salmon Arm, in connection with a robbery at the Tappen Esso. - Photo contributed.

A man charged in connection with the Halloween robbery of the Tappen Esso will return to court at the end of this month.

Paulo Anthony Murphy-O’Neil faces nine charges related to a crime that saw three people arrested on the Trans-Canada Highway as Salmon Arm’s Halloween Treat Trail was wrapping up last year.

Murphy-O’Neil, born in 1992, is scheduled to appear in BC Provincial Court in Salmon Arm on Jan. 30 to face charges of: robbery, using an imitation firearm while committing the robbery, two counts of possessing a prohibited weapon (“brass knuckles/taser”) without a licence and contrary to a court order, possessing heroin and methamphetamine, and possessing “pipes, syringes or other drug paraphernalia” contrary to a court order.

An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30, where he is expected to plead guilty or not guilty.

Related link: Police arrest three on Trans-Canada Highway downtown

Related link: Criminal charges pending following Halloween robbery

Related link: Man charged in Tappen Esso robbery

The arrest of the suspect and two other people, a man and a woman, took place in a dramatic takedown, seldom if ever seen in downtown Salmon Arm.

Police had received a call at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 31 telling them a suspect with a gun had approached an employee of the Tappen Esso and demanded money before fleeing the scene in a pickup truck.

A witness provided police with a description of the occupants of the truck and a detailed description of the getaway vehicle, which included the B.C. licence plate.

Officers then made the arrest in Salmon Arm on the Trans-Canada Highway near the intersection of Ross and Alexander streets.

Traffic was delayed as four police cars and a number of officers, at least one with a weapon drawn, converged on the scene.

The other two people arrested have not been charged.


@SalmonArm
marthawickett@saobserver.net

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Martha Wickett

About the Author: Martha Wickett

came to Salmon Arm in May of 2004 to work at the Observer. I was looking for a change from the hustle and bustle of the Lower Mainland, where I had spent more than a decade working in community newspapers.
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