Murder upgrade

A CHARGE of first-degree murder has been laid against a West Vancouver man who was arrested in connection with the strangulation of a British Properties man.

Scott Gordon Kraft, 32, was found murdered in his parents’ house at 397 Southborough Dr. on Aug, 3.

The next day West Vancouver Police charged Dale Roger Paterson, 31, of West Vancouver with second- degree murder.

On Thursday, police announced Crown counsel has now charged Paterson with first-degree murder.

Police said the new charge was laid as a result of fur- ther police investigation of the case.

Kraft, an employee of the Hongkong Bank of Canada, received a blow fo the head with a blunt object, but an auiopsy found he died of strangulation.

Police say Kraft and Paterson knew each other,

Police money

‘THE DISTRICT of West Vancouver has received just ‘ over half s million dollars from the provincial govern- i ment for its 1993 independent police equalization grants. i . West Vancouver has been awarded a total of $542,691. ''- The. grants, which this year total $5,753,772, were . awarded to 12 B.C. self-policing municipalities.

“These grants help ensure that British Columbians - have affordable police protection by reducing inequities in police costs,’’ said Municipal Affairs Minister Robin Blencoe. i

The grants reduce “the disparities between the 12 municipalities that pay 100% of their police costs and other B.C. municipalities that share police costs with the federal government.

Under the’ program, self-policed municipalities are ‘provided with u grant equal to federal funding for an RCMP contract, or the cost of policing 5,060 of the community's people, whichever is less.

2

- Opium bust.

“TWO NORTH Vancouver residents face drug: related charges following 2 joint raid on Tuesday, Aug. 10 by . the North Vancouver RCMP and West Vancouver Police ‘Department drug squad sections. Charged with possession of a’ narcotic for the purpose of trafficking and importing 2 narcotic are Mahamoud ° .Mougadamian, 41, and Rosa Tamadonrastegar, 33. | Pelice acted:on‘a tip provided by Canada Customs of- - ficdals in Quebec, who hed discovered a ‘mysterious’ - bet.k. in.a. package. RCMP inspectors’. found one ‘kilogram of “good quality’? opium worth an estimated * $30,000 hidden in the hard cover of the book. The book was subsequently delivered to the Parkgate . Avenue address. : 'Pelice arrested Tamadonrastegar and seized the opium after stopping her in a car on Lonsdale Avenue. ’ ‘An’ RCMP spokesman said police executed a search . “ warantat 162-1300 Parkgate Ave. in North Vancouver ; al Ip, : ; The; search, wetted police over $7,000 in cash and : assorted opium trafficking parapherssiia.

Cocaine charges TWO VANCOUVER men were each recently jailed 30 days in connection with a charge of cocaine possession in West Vancouver.

Andrew Gordon Wakeling, 26, and Robert Glen Larsen, 28, pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking, but instead, pleaded guilty to the lesser or included offence of cocaine possession.

‘Each man was also fined $1,000 in connection with an incident that occurred. on Oct.8, 1992.

Judge’ Reginald Grandison sentenced the two men in West Vancouver provincial court on July 7.

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NEWS photo Mike Wakatleld

WEST VANCOUVER Police dispatcher Gabriela Kriese keeps a close watch on the police officers out on the road. She also answers 9-7-1 emorgency lines, runs licence plate checks and monitors

the police department's fail cells.

;

pony tunes on a full moon

High stress situations part of WV police dispatcher’s job

IN ITS continuing series profiling the two North Shore police departments, the North Shore News takes a look at the opera- tions of the West Vancouver Police Department’ 's dispatch sec- tion.

By Surj Rattan: ; News Reporter ‘

GABRIELA KRIESE is not a superstitious woman.

But when the West Vancouver Police Department dispatcher set- 'tles into the police communication centre for a 12-hour. shift, ‘and there’s a full moon, outside, she can be assured that it will be a busy, if not strange, shift.

“I don’t care what anyone says

— the loonies all come out when there’s a full moon out,” says Kriese. ‘\

She is one of the West Van- couver Police Department’s seven full-time dispatchers and is the ‘main dispatcher for the D-pla- toon.

She is the communication link for all police officers who’ work on D-platoon. She answers two 9-1-1 emergency telephone lines, has a three-channel microphone, is able to patch into the com- munication lines of the; North Vancouver RCMP..and the, Squamish KCMP and will run. licence plate checks on her Cana- dian Police Information Computer (CPIC).

cameras trained on the police department’s jail cells, booking area, front doors and side doors.

i While the police protect the public, Kriese protects the police ‘officer on the road. | She keeps a log book to make

/ sure that she knows where every police officer is at ali times.

“If they stop a. caz, Pil know where they are.-If I don’t hear back from them ‘again, I'll check on them every six minutes. You do have that gut feeling and you really don’t know what you have.

“We use the 10-code system, particularly if the suspect is standing next to the member. If the suspect is considered armed and dangerous following a check, 1 can let the member know that through a 10-code,’’ says Kriese. ‘In answering 9-1-1 calls,: Kriese

will ask several key questions’ to.

obtain all important: information on the emergency call and. will

Kriese also monitors four video |

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dispatch that information to the police members on the road.

A screen allows her to see ex- actly where the 9-1-1 call is com- ing from.

“You can't always go by what’s on the screen. You have to ascer-., tain. as much «information as possible so. the members know what it is that they’re gettine ©10.

“They need to know if drugs,

‘alcohol and weapons are involy-

ed,’’ says Kriese. , “You have to be’ very oot and . keep your head in this job. The stress level of this job is very, high. Staying. up all night is tiring and you start to get burned out around

| “But you have to keep your’ wits about you because you never know when that man-with-a-gun

call is going to come in. It’s’ get-

ting more ‘violent out there,’’ says Kriese. .