EX-MOUNTIE NABBED

Fugitive facing drug charges captured in Ontario by RCMP

The North Vancouver Mounties have got their man.

In this case the man is a former North Vancouver Mountie.

Scott Simpson, a former constable, was arrested early last week at his
parents' home in Peterborough, Ontario, according to North Vancouver RCMP
Const. Mike Lidstone.

Simpson, 38, was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant.

He failed to show up for court on Oct. 25 where he was expected to enter a
guilty plea to a marijuana trafficking charge.

Simpson was charged with trafficking marijuana to male teenage students in
North Vancouver.

He quit the Mounties in March, one month after being charged.

Simpson has since been charged for failing to appear in court, a Criminal
Code offence.

On Oct. 25, with Simpson's lawyer and a federal Crown prosecutor present,
North Vancouver provincial court Judge J.K. Shaw issued an arrest warrant
for Simpson.

That warrant was extended beyond provincial boundaries to being in effect
Canada-wide earlier this month.

Simpson used to live in a basement suite in the 3200-block of Regent Avenue
in the Carisbrooke area.

Early last week, Simpson was arrested by RCMP in Bowmanville, Ontario. He
was kept in jail cells in Ontario while a North Vancouver RCMP sergeant
went to pick him up. The sergeant is new to the detachment and did not work
with Simpson. Simpson was expected to be in jail at his former workplace on
Friday.

North Vancouver RCMP Const. Heidi Hoffman said in an earlier News story
that the Simpson allegations and his court non-appearance has been an
embarrassment to the detachment. She said the allegations have been
detrimental to the local Mounties' school liaison program. Simpson is a
12-year RCMP veteran who worked on patrol in North Vancouver for four
years.