NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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WEST NIPISSING - On Nov. 21, 2020 at 4:20 p.m., members from the Nipissing West Detachment of the OPP responded to a report of a driver at local business on Front Street, Municipality of West Nipissing (Sturgeon Falls) who appears to be under the influence of a drug.
Officers arrived on scene as the suspect was about to drive away. Upon speaking with the driver, officers concluded the individual was under the influence of a drug and was arrested. Officers subsequently seized a quantity of drugs suspected to be cocaine.
[It is alleged that] the driver refused to comply with the demand for testing by a drug recognition expert (DRE) and as a result, Jonathan Pearson, age 30 from Orillia, was charged with:
• Failure or refusal to comply with demand, contrary to section 320.15(1) of the CC; and
• Possession of a Schedule 1 Substance - cocaine, contrary to section 4(1) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
The accused was released on an Appearance Notice and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice on Dec. 3, 2020 in North Bay.
Further investigation revealed the passenger was breaching their court ordered release condition and was also arrested.
Jasmine Fitzgerald, age 22 from Sturgeon Falls, was charged with:
• Failure to comply with release order - other than to attend court, contrary to section 145(5)(a) of the CC.
These incidents mark the 65 drivers charged under the criminal impaired driving laws in the Nipissing West Detachment area in 2020.
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