A man with an extensive criminal history basically became a sitting duck for RCMP in Salmon Arm on Christmas Eve.

It was around 4 pm when police were called about a suspicious vehicle in the 3500 block of Lakeshore Road NE. 

A resident had seen a man in an F350 truck that had become stuck on the witness’ property.

When officers arrived on scene, the man tried to power the truck out of the deep snow, which only made it more immobilized.

At that point, the suspect attempted to flee the area and threw a number of items, including a semi-automatic handgun, in the snow.

Officers quickly found and arrested the man and discovered that the truck had been stolen from a worksite in Alberta and the firearm had been stolen from Evansburg, Alta. in 2016.

The arrested man had a bail hearing and was held in custody for possession of the stolen truck and stolen gun, along with a number of other charges stemming from court ordered prohibitions.