DIAL-A-DOPE: JUNKIE CALLS COPS FOR FIX

Fleeing Con Turned Himself in to Get Methadone Hit

A man who escaped from custody ran out of drugs, so he called police for help.

The man, a runaway inmate from the Fraser Correctional Centre,
disappeared from a work camp in Golden Ears Provincial Park.

He was nabbed four days later on the Sunshine Coast.

"We're always very happy when they're back with us, because it means
they're not out there committing crimes," Ridge Meadows RCMP
spokesman Dan Herbranson said yesterday.

It may have been the easiest arrest police have ever made.

It seems the runaway con has a methadone habit. With no vehicle and
an abundance of snow he couldn't get his fix.

"He's from here originally," said Sgt. Gerry Webb of the Sunshine
Coast RCMP. "He came home to roost."

Methadone is a legal drug given to heroin addicts to help them kick
their illegal heroin habit.

The idea behind the strategy is that junkies are continually
committing crimes to make money to feed their very expensive habit.
In theory, getting junkies off heroin will help lower crime rates.

Webb said the man had been sighted the night before he made the
surprise decision to call the cops for help.

"He was seen here [Sechelt] the night before," said Webb. "He was
holed up, and he didn't have a car.

"With the snow, he couldn't get around to get his drugs. He actually
phoned up so he could get his methadone."

Christopher Victor Nordstrom was serving time for property crimes.

He's now back at the Fraser Correctional Centre and will be charged
with escaping lawful custody.