On November 30, 2023, at 10:31pm uniform officers from the 1 District (St. Catharines / Thorold) office of the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) responded to a report of a possible impaired driver in St. Catharines.
A member of the public contacted the NRPS to report being behind a 2017 blue Volkswagen that was driving erratically and had bumped into curbs.
Officers located and stopped the Volkswagen at Frank Street and Church Street in St. Catharines. After speaking with the male driver, officers formed grounds to believe he was impaired, and he was arrested. A search of the Volkswagen following the driver’s arrest led to the seizure of:
65 grams of suspected Fentanyl 32 suspected Benzodiazepine pills
Daniel Denis Petrucci (39 yrs.) of St. Catharines was arrested and charged with criminal offences of:
Impaired Operation of a Conveyance – Drug Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – Fentanyl Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – Benzodiazepine
Petrucci was later released on a Form 10 Undertaking with a future court date of December 29, 2023, at the Robert S. K. Welch Courthouse in St. Catharines.
In addition to the Volkswagen being impounded, Petrucci has been issued an Administrative Driver’s Licence Suspension (ADLS). The ADLS is issued to everyone charged with similar driving offences. The ADLS prohibits Petrucci from operating a motor vehicle for 90 days from the date it was issued.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the investigating officers by calling 905-688-4111, option 3, extension 1004233, reference incident 23-133607.
Members of the public who wish to provide information anonymously can contact Crime Stoppers of Niagara online or by calling 1-800-222-8477. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to persons who contact the program with information which leads to an arrest.
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23-133607