RCMP emergency response team members were deployed to Summerland on Sunday and successfully arrested a federal parolee who had been missing for almost three weeks.
Andrew Robert Hardenstine was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant since he left a halfway house in Kamloops on Jan. 14. A public bulletin had been issued by RCMP at that time about the 33-year-old which stated he had a lengthy criminal record of violence against people.
“He had been approaching a house or pulling up to a house and he stopped in a vehicle at a property that was being monitored and he fled from there,” said Moskaluk.
“He was arrested and captured in close proximity at a nearby property he was not related to.”
Summerlanders saw police in uniform and plain clothes, K9 and Emergency Task Force members. Police stopped and searched cars and knocked on doors in during the search in Summerland. Police advised neighbours to stay indoors.
According to Moskaluk, two other individuals in the vehicle also fled. He said because Hardenstine was the priority they concentrated efforts on locating and arresting him.
Police investigation is ongoing to confirm the identity of the two individuals who fled.
Hardenstine has multiple prior convictions including theft, robbery and break and enter that stem from incidents in Penticton. He was released on parole in January and had been serving a three-year, eight-month sentence on two convictions for possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and a weapons related offence.
“Given that Hardenstine is known as a violent criminal, there were support resources deployed like the police service dog and emergency response team to ensure we were able to conduct a safe arrest of the individual and minimize and mitigate any risk to the public and the officers,” said Moskaluk.
Moskaluk added several detachments in the South East District were actively investigating information being received since the issuing of the warrant for Hardenstine, as well as pursuing already known information about areas that he would frequent.
Given Hardenstine’s known associations, Moskaluk said RCMP believed in all likelihood the wanted man would be found in a South Okanagan community or in the southwest Kootenay-Boundary area.