Man caught with loaded handgun after jumping fare gates at Surrey SkyTrain station, police say

A SkyTrain crosses over the Fraser River past snow-capped mountains in the distance, in New Westminster, B.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

A 55-year-old man was arrested on “several outstanding warrants” after he attempted to dodge paying SkyTrain fare in Surrey earlier this week, according to Metro Vancouver Transit Police.

The incident occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Monday at Gateway SkyTrain Station, where transit police officers were checking passenger fares inside the fare-paid zone, MVTP said in a news release Wednesday.

“They watched a man follow another passenger through the gates while failing to tap any Compass media or provide proof of payment,” the release reads. “The resulting interaction revealed several outstanding warrants, and a loaded handgun and ammunition.”

Police said Roger David Mowat was charged with one count of possession of a loaded prohibited or restricted firearm. He remains in custody pending his next court appearance, which is scheduled for March 31 in Surrey, according to online court records.

Transit police did not specify what charges led to the outstanding warrants for Mowat’s arrest.

Online court records show only one other file for a man by that name. It pertains to charges of assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm, both of which allegedly occurred on March 4 in Surrey.

Those charges were sworn March 6, but Mowat did not make his first appearance in response to them until Monday evening, at the same time he first appeared on the firearm charge.

MVTP spokesperson Const. Amanda Steed said Mowat’s arrest highlighted the fact that, “in policing, routine tasks can have dramatic outcomes.”

“In this case, simply ensuring that transit users had valid fare while using the system resulted in a dangerous weapon being removed from transit before any harm could come to the public,” Steed said in the release.