RCMP arrest man after firearms were found in an abandoned vehicle

Claresholm RCMP arrested a 35-year-old man from Fort Macleod in connection with an investigation into an abandoned vehicle on Wednesday.

Police were called to the scene, at Seventh Street and 51 Avenue in Claresholm, in the early morning hours of June 22 for reports of a suspicious vehicle.

When officers attended and arranged to have it towed, they saw an unsecured rifle and ammunition inside the vehicle.

The items were seized from the vehicle and police left the scene, but were called back by the tow operator.

"(They) reported that the vehicle owner had returned and was threatening the operator," RCMP said in a release.

Once the officers returned, they spoke with the vehicle owner, Andrew Albert Watson, a Fort Macleod man that police identify as a "repeat offender."

As a result of the incident, Watson was charged with:

• Two counts of unauthorized possession of a weapon;
• Unsafe storage of a firearm;
• Three counts of failure to comply with a release condition; and
• Uttering threats.

Watson was remanded into custody and is expected in Lethbridge provincial court on June 23.