Man arrested on Christmas Day for "repeatedly" hosting parties during pandemic: VPD

Vancouver police arrested a 24-year-old man on Christmas Day after he allegedly hosted several parties and gatherings in violation of BC’s COVID-19 public health orders.

The man lives in an apartment downtown, and police say they’ve received 12 complaints about noise and parties at his residence since September. The man already received two $2,300 tickets in December for hosting gatherings, and police obtained an arrest warrant after another party-related complaint on December 18.

“Our officers issued multiple warnings and issued tickets to this man over several weeks, asking him to stop hosting parties during the pandemic,” Sgt. Steve Addison said in a news release. “He made clear that he has no plans to stop, so our officers obtained an arrest warrant and he spent Christmas in jail.”

• See also:
  • Environment Canada issues rainfall warning for Metro Vancouver
  • COVID-19 UK variant “not yet” spreading widely in BC: Dr. Henry
  • 14-year-old identified as victim of fatal Monday night shooting in Surrey

The man was released on Boxing Day and has several bail conditions, including that he must open the door when police knock and that he’s only permitted to host two individuals at his apartment, which people living alone are allowed to do.

He’s now facing charges for his alleged public health order violations.

“This should serve as a reminder to anyone who thinks it’s still okay to ignore the public health order and put other people at risk,” Addison said.

The order banning gatherings throughout the province of BC is set to expire on January 8, 2021. It’s not yet known if officials will extend the ban past that date.