A Whitehorse man falsely suspected of possessing a stolen snowmobile will not be compensated by the RCMP for his impound fees or time behind bars.

Both stemmed from an arrest he says was unjustified.

Early last Sunday morning, Corey Markey, 34, was on his way to get a sandwich at the Subway restaurant at the Canada Games Centre when he was pulled over.

The officer, a dog handler, told him the reason was that his headlights weren’t on.

Markey’s newly purchased fog lights were shining brightly, but not the pickup truck’s headlights, he admitted.

After Markey presented his licence and registration, another officer, Const. Marie-Eve Brindamour-Carignan, approached and checked the serial number of the snowmobile in the pickup box.

By radio, she relayed the number, which was “similar” to several snowmobiles that had been reported stolen, police told the Star today.

“They came back and they said, ‘Sir, it’s not your vehicle. You’re under arrest for possession of stolen property,’” Markey said in an interview this morning.

He was arrested and cuffed on the spot.

Once in the police cruiser, Brindamour-Carignan asked Markey if he had been drinking.

He replied he’d had one beer earlier in the evening.

“She said, ‘Well, there’s 24 hours’ suspension,’ Markey told the Star. He offered to do a roadside breathalyzer test — “I said I’d be more than happy to” — but received no response from the police.

The truck and sled were impounded and Markey spent the night in jail.

No food or water were offered. He still had not eaten dinner.

Markey was released at around noon last Sunday, roughly 11 hours after being detained.

He retrieved his licence that evening.

He went to the Capital Towing Services Ltd. yard to pick up his vehicles Monday and learned the cost was more than $350, including the daily storage fee.

“I didn’t have the money to get the truck or sled out,” he said.

Markey had to wait until today to get them, though he was ultimately charged only $255.

He said RCMP called Capital earlier in the week to try to waive the storage fees, but police ultimately told him:

“‘We can’t help you.’”

Markey, a diesel mechanic at Inland Kenworth who moved to Whitehorse last month from northern British Columbia, said he’s in no position to dole out excess cash.

“Here I am stuck with a tow bill that I can’t afford ... I just moved here, me and my girlfriend. We’re trying to get our feet on the ground, she’s pregnant, and now this.”

Whitehorse RCMP told the Star that more than half of the characters in the snow mobile’s serial number may have matched those of two stolen sleds.

“It was quite simple: the serial number that they read back to our telecoms people for CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre) came back as very similar to two other snowmobiles — the same make, the same year — as being stolen,” said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Tom Wyers.

“But the one in particular that he had was of a slightly different model and serial number than the ones they were looking at.”

Markey said his is a 2002 Ski-Doo Summit 700, while at least one of the ones at large is a 2002 Ski-Doo MXZ 600.

“Mine says Summit on the hood. The other says MXZ.

“All she (the officer) had to do was drive to my house,” he said.

“I would have went in and I would have shown her (the bill of sale),” which he did at the detachment Sunday evening.

“You didn’t have to do all this. You didn’t have to tow my sled — 11 hours in jail.”

Wyers explained the 24-licence suspension: “Based on their experience and the signs of impairment that they observed, a roadside screening was not done.”

RCMP officers are trained to identify symptoms of excessive alcohol consumption and are empowered to revoke a driver’s licence for up to 24 hours without administering a roadside breathalyzer test. No criminal charge or fine applies.

“If they thought I was drinking, they could have given me the breathalyzer,” Markey insisted.

“I don’t have any note of that,” Wyers responded.

“All I can tell you is that they noted some immediate signs of impairment and proceeded with a 24-hour suspension.”

That is an accusation Markey laughs at.

Wyers noted that Saturday evening/early Sunday morning was a hectic period for the police.

Roughly two hours before Markey’s arrest, Bernie’s Race Trac Gas — only blocks away — was robbed.

“It also comes down to a number of priority calls going out at that time,” Wyers noted.

He said the chunk of time Markey spent behind bars was also due in part to outstanding arrest warrants in Alberta for impaired driving and lesser offences.

“So we needed to look into those warrants to see if they want him returned,” the officer said.

Markey paid the $255 to Capital Towing today.

“I’m not going to give up until I get my money back,” he said.

“I’ll spend a thousand dollars on a lawyer if I have to.”