A man charged with fraudulently inspecting cranes and other heavy machinery in Elkford has appeared in court.
Paddy Gene Doherty, 37, from Fruitvale, was released on bail from a Cranbrook court last week.
He is facing eight additional charges of break and enter, mischief under $5,000, uttering threats, and breach of an undertaking following incidents in Elkford between March 18 and 20.
He appeared in court in Fernie briefly on Tuesday but the matter was adjourned after he claimed he had not had full disclosure from the RCMP.
Cst. Steve Genereaux of the Elk Valley RCMP said he couldn’t go into too many details, but Doherty is accused of breaking into a home, damaging it, and threatening the homeowner.
“There are still a lot of witnesses to be sought out,” he said.
Doherty is also charged with assault and resisting arrest at Elkford on February 19, and driving while prohibited in an incident in Salmo in January.
A warrant for his arrest was issued after he was charged with 49 counts of fraud, forgery, and uttering forged documents in 10 Kootenay communities, including Nelson, Creston, and Waneta.
It’s alleged he inspected commercially operated cranes, forklifts, and garage hoists without valid certification for 27 businesses during the first half of 2009.
In doing so, police say he defrauded them out of about $40,000 in inspection fees.
Doherty’s certification expired at the end of 2008. Some re-inspections failed equipment that he approved.
When the warrant was issued early this month, RCMP weren’t sure where Doherty was.
He was fined $250 on February 28 in Castlegar Provincial Court for one count of fraud under $5,000.