48-year-old Ricky Badger is facing a long list of charges after an altercation on Highway 657 near Kehewin.
A Bonnyville RCMP officer was patrolling the area when he pulled a vehicle over for not meeting equipment regulations. When the officer asked for the driver’s ID, he was not able to produce a licence or any other information. He was then detained. As the officer searched the man, a baggie of methamphetamine was found in his pocket. After this discovery the man attacked the officer and a fight broke out, during which he swallowed the baggie of meth. The officer eventually got the man under control and  handcuffed him. The officer drove him to the hospital but the suspect refused to be treated for the plastic bag full of meth now in his stomach. He was then sent off to jail.
Information obtained from the arrest allowed police to obtain a search warrant for the man’s house which resulted in police seizing numerous exhibits including loaded firearms, ammunition, drug paraphernalia, stolen property and drugs. Further police checks on him revealed that he was bound by a firearms prohibition along with being suspended from driving.
Ricky BADGER, 48 years of age, remains in police custody facing numerous charges including Possession of a Controlled Substance x2, Resist Arrest, Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, Unauthorized possession of a prohibited/ restricted firearm, Possession of weapon contrary to order to surrender x2, Unsafe storage of a firearm, Identity Theft x2, Possession of Stolen Property, driving while disqualified and theft. BADGER will appear before a provincial court Judge on May 17th, 2016 in Bonnyville, AB.
Of the four passengers in the vehicle, a female was arrested on outstanding warrants and later remanded in custody. The other 3 passengers were released without charges.