A man who spent most of the past 19 years living in Alberta is probably regretting a return to Prince George this week after he was arrested on a drunk driving charge dating back to 1993.
Randell Purych, 39, was apprehended Wednesday and met up with an old acquaintance, namely Prince George RCMP member who pulled him over on March 6, 1993 when police responded to a report of a collision at the intersection of Norwood Street and Village Avenue in Prince George.
Once on the scene, Staff Sergeant Tom Bethune, then a constable, found Purych, who admitted to driving the car but gave a name that was later found to be false. Purych was taken to the detachment where police allege he provided to samples both more than two-and-a-half times the legal limit.
Purych never showed up for court and an arrest warrant was issued and remained on file all this time.
He had spent most of the last 19 years in Medicine Hat, Alberta but was arrested later afternoon Wednesday at a home in the 2000 block of Oak Street after the Prince George RCMP's Crime Reduction Team executed a search warrant.
Once inside, officers located two men and a small quantity on marihuana and computer checks of the two men found the arrest warrant for Purych. The other man was released without charge.
"When I saw him in the cell, I thought he had aged a lot," Bethune said. "He was probably thinking the same thing about me."
Purych has been held in custody pending an appearance in court today and faces a charge of failing to appear in addition to the original charge of driving while impaired.
Anyone with information about someone wanted by police can contact the Prince George RCMP at (250)561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1(800)222-TIPS (8477), online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca, or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES using keyword "pgtips".
