RCMP on the Burin Peninsula and in Harbour Grace responded to tips from the public on suspected impaired drivers and made two recent arrests.
Just before midnight, on April 4, 2021, Burin Peninsula RCMP received a report of a suspected impaired driver in Marystown. Officers patrolled and located the described vehicle and conducted a traffic stop. The driver, a 44-year-old Fox Cove man, was prohibited from driving stemming from a previous impaired driving conviction and showed signs of impairment. He failed a roadside breath test, was arrested for impaired driving and transported to the detachment where he refused to provide further breath samples. He was released from custody and is set to attend court at a later date where he will answer to charges of prohibited driving and refusing to provide a breath sample. He was ticketed for operating a vehicle with an altered licence plate, issued a driving suspension and his vehicle was seized and impounded.
On April 5, 2021, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Harbour Grace RCMP received a report of a suspected impaired driver who collided with a guardrail while entering Carbonear. Witnesses followed the vehicle until police arrived. Sixty-one-year-old Joseph Peddle of Mount Pearl, who was wanted on a warrant of arrest by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary in St. John's for failing to attend court, showed signs of impairment and was arrested for impaired driving. He was transported to the detachment where he provided breath samples that were above the legal limit. Peddle was on conditions not to consume alcohol. His vehicle was seized and impounded and his driver's licence was suspended. He attended court yesterday and is charged with impaired driving and failing to comply with conditions of a release order. Peddle's warrant of arrest was also addressed while he was in court. He was released from custody and is set to attend court at a later date.
RCMP NL thanks the public for continuing to report suspected impaired drivers and continues to fulfill its mandate to protect public safety, enforce the law, and ensure the delivery of priority policing services in Newfoundland and Labrador.