National

Charges laid in fatal Prince George motel blaze

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Sep, 2021 12:47 PM

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - Charges have been laid in connection with a fire that killed three people at a motel in Prince George, B.C.

RCMP say 35-year-old Justin Aster is charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and two arson-related offences.

Court documents show he is well known to police and made his first appearance at a court in Williams Lake on Friday, when he was ordered to remain in custody until his next date on Thursday.

Three people died in the fast-moving blaze at the Econo Lodge Motel on July 8, 2020.

Several guests of the downtown motel narrowly escaped when flames broke out just before 9 a.m.

Cpl. Jennifer Cooper called the deaths tragic and says officers are proud to have brought a suspect forward to the courts in connection with the fire.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Vaccine passports for travel coming

The document, expected to be ready by the fall, will be digital, with an option for those who can't or don't want a digital certificate. Mendicino says it will include data on the type of vaccines received, the dates, and the location.

Vaccine passports for travel coming

Vancouver Police saw a 129 % increase in stranger sexual assaults in July

Since July 1 of this year, there have been eight incidents related to the Granville Entertainment District. The eight incidents range from unwanted touching (groping) to forced sexual intercourse. In July alone, there have been 16 reported stranger sexual assaults throughout Vancouver, compared to 10 in July of 2020 and 7 in July of 2019.

Vancouver Police saw a 129 % increase in stranger sexual assaults in July

Heat warnings raise wildfire anxiety in B.C.

The BC Wildfire Service fire danger map shows risk levels have returned to high or extreme across southern Vancouver Island and most of the central Interior following last weekend's showers.

Heat warnings raise wildfire anxiety in B.C.

Garneau condemns Chinese sentence on Spavor

Garneau in a news conference said the government condemns "in the strongest possible terms" the prison sentence, which followed a closed-door trial in March in which Spavor was found guilty of spying on China.

Garneau condemns Chinese sentence on Spavor

Tories question CERB's backstage bureaucracy

The $2,000-per-month Canada Emergency Response Benefit amounted to "two entirely different relief programs, distributed by different government agencies and with different eligibility criteria," though seniors were never informed, Falk wrote in an Aug. 9 letter obtained by The Canadian Press.

Tories question CERB's backstage bureaucracy

Canada's vaccine stockpile tops 20 million doses

Data on vaccine deliveries, distribution and injections provided by Health Canada and the provinces show almost 22 million doses have been delivered but not yet used.