(LAURENTIAN VALLEY TWP, ON) – Two local residents are facing charges after an impaired driving investigation in the Township of Laurentian Valley (TLV) resulted in the seizure of suspected cocaine.
On March 2, 2024, at approximately 10:20 p.m., members of the Upper Ottawa Valley (UOV) Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a report of a suspicious passenger vehicle parked on the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) Trail near Whitewater Road in TLV. Officers located the vehicle on the trail and as part of the investigation a Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST) was conducted. Further testing was conducted by a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) officer at the detachment.
As a result of this investigation the driver, 37-year-old Meryl MCGIVERN of Pembroke, has been charged with the following Criminal Code (CC) and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) offences:
· Operation while impaired – drugs
· Failure or refusal to comply with demand
· Possession of a schedule I substance – cocaine – two counts
Vehicle passenger 46-year-old Candace RANGER of TLV, was charged with one count of possession of schedule I substance – cocaine, contrary to the CDSA.
The accused driver had their driver’s licence suspended for 90 days and their vehicle was towed and impounded for seven days. Both accused individuals were released and are scheduled appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Pembroke on April 9, 2024.
