The man charged in relation to an incident that closed Kelowna's William R. Bennett for more than 10 hours on January 27, has elected to be tried by both judge and jury in his upcoming court case.
Roy Winter, the man alleged to have parked a van full of explosives on the bridge appeared in a Kelowna Provincial Courtroom on June 24.
Winter is facing several charges all relating to the January bridge closure incident. He remains in custody ahead of the trial on charges of arson, making or possessing explosives, use of explosives to cause serious bodily harm, possession of incendiary material, mischief endangering life, mischief, nuisance endangering life, assault peace officer with a weapon, resist/obstruct peace officer, uttering threats, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
At approximately 3:45 a.m., on the morning of the incident, Winter allegedly parked a white van labelled Mr. Chill across the eastbound lanes of the W. R. Bennett bridge.
Ten minutes later, news outlets across Kelowna received an e-mail from someone claiming to be Roy Winter, alleging that there was explosive material inside the vehicle. The e-mail also stated that the sender was willing to harm himself and others in order to "resolve" matters allegedly involving the RCMP.
BC Ambulance, police and fire crews were called to the scene, soon after a blaze started in the van. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and Winter was apprehended nearby and taken to the hospital. After being released from the hospital, he was arrested and taken into custody.
Since explosives were believed to be inside the van, the Explosive Disposal Unit, based in Surrey, was dispatched. The bridge remained closed for 11 hours until it could be made safe.
While the bridge was closed, police conducted a related search at a home on Terai Court in Rutland.
The RCMP later confirmed that the contents of the van did present a significant risk to public safety.
Winter will next appear in court on Sept. 5, for a pre-trial conference.
