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Surrey defends LRT plan with economic study / B.C. axes ALR boss WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2015 Your community. Your stories.
TRI-CITY
NEWS BLOOD DRIVE
Donate blood on May 28 SARAH PAYNE
The Tri-CiTy News
SARAH PAYNE/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
The city of Port Moody will be holding its second annual blood donor clinic at the Inlet Centre Fire Hall on May 28 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. To book an appointment, call 1-888-2DONATE or visit blood.ca.
IN COURT
Coq. ‘swatter’ pleads guilty 17-year-old has now admitted to 23 offences JANIS WARREN
The Tri-CiTy News
A Coquitlam teen who prompted numerous “swatting” incidents last year on families around Canada and the U.S. pleaded guilty last week to a dozen more charges. The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified under a publication ban because of his age, has now admitted to a total of
23 offences of extortion, public mischief, criminal harassment, uttering threats and breach of recognizance. In a day-long sentencing hearing at Port Coquitlam provincial court last Friday, Crown prosecutor Michael Bauer outlined how the teen had terrorized mostly young, female gamers and their parents, in B.C., Minnesota, Utah, Arizona, Ohio and California. He had a consistent pattern of trying to connect with the online gamers — many of them fans of the game League of Legends. But when they denied his requests, he shut down their
internet access, posted their personal information online, repeatedly called them late at night and contacted the police in their hometown, posing as someone else. Often, he would tell the police he was holding a family hostage, had napalm bombs or had killed someone in the house. He would demand a ransom, order a SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team — hence the term “swatting” — to show up with a police helicopter, or say he would kill any law enforcement official who intervened, Bauer said. The teen, who went under
the same social media handle (or a variation of it), would also retaliate by posting a target’s parents’ dates of birth, and social insurance and credit card numbers on the web, and had pizza which they had not ordered delivered to their home. Bauer spent more than an hour outlining the Arizona case, in which a young woman was forced to withdraw from her semester at the University of Arizona in Tucson because she became anxious after the teen relentlessly pursued and threatened her and her parents.
DREAMSTIME.COM
A Coquitlam teen hacker has pled guilty to 23 charges.
The Inlet Centre Fire Hall will be throwing open its truck bay doors later this month and welcoming the public for its second annual blood donor clinic. Last year’s was held at Port Moody city hall in the Galleria, but with the new fire hall up and running Chief Remo Faedo said it was a great opportunity to have people check out the new digs and do something good at the same time. “We see the need for blood donor clinics first hand,” Faedo said, noting a car accident victim can need up to 50 units of blood. “The need is constant and it doesn’t stop, it really doesn’t.” PoMo Fire Rescue administrator Natalie Hayton has organized the clinics, bringing the idea with her from a previous job in Vancouver, saying with money tight for many families, donating one’s blood or time is a manageable option for charitable giving. “It’s easy to do and it’s easy to give,” she said. Last year’s PoMo clinic exceeded their target, drawing 100 donors (Canadian Blood Services was able to collect from 88 of them), and this year they’re hoping to produce 76 units of blood. So far about 60% of the appointment slots have been booked for the May 28 clinic, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. • To book your appointment call 1-888-2DONATE or visit blood.ca. spayne@tricitynews.com @spayneTC
on sale Visit thriftyfoods.com for this week’s flyer
see TEEN, page 6
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