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Post by Sher on Jun 23, 2005 14:52:43 GMT -5
This story really doesnt belong, but needs to be seen.
After a year of putting down an uprising, the Hells Angels may be ready to reclaim turf lost to Asian gangs, warns the Criminal Intelligence Service of Alberta.
"Things have all ironed out there and what we're saying is that we should pay attention that they may want their business interests back," said CISA director Harv Emter.
"All we're saying is that they may want their business interests back and they don't deal the same way as Pepsi or Coca-Cola do in their market wars."
The agency's annual report states the Angels absorbed the American-based Bandidos and established three affiliates to retain control of biker gangs in the province.
"There is currently a push by the Hells Angels to secure drug markets, particularly in southern Alberta," the report said.
"The escalation of violence among Asian criminals, apparent intentions of the Hells Angels organization to move into drug territories and the presence of a number of street gangs are seen as emerging threats of concern to law enforcement."
Fears of a biker war erupted in January 2004 after a prospective member of the Bandidos, Joey Morin, and a friend, Robert Simpson, were gunned down.
During the same time, CISA figures the Angels may have lost a portion of their turf to Asian gangs.
But after months of tension, in October 2004, the Bandidos patched over to the Angels in a quiet Red Deer ceremony.
Now there are fears that the Angels want their turf back.
"It's something we as the police should keep an eye on and be cognizant that it could happen," Emter said. "Past performances sometimes predict future behaviour.
"They're pretty persuasive in their arguments sometimes and if you don't listen sometimes they can be persuasive in other manners. That's why we say in our report that there could be - could be - some violence."
Acting Edmonton police Chief Darryl da Costa said cops here are also paying attention.
"With respect to the investigative strategies and what we'll be doing to deal with it, I won't go into that, but any time we get an increase in action on any of the organized-crime groups we definitely pay attention," he said.
Grande Prairie Insp. Bryon Hodgkin said there's always concern when two factions fight for turf.
"Any time there's a turf war, there's always concern for public safety," said Hodgkin.
He said this weekend's spring ride from Edmonton to Grande Prairie doesn't seem to have any ties to the Angels trying to get their turf back.
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Post by Sher on Jun 24, 2005 13:20:15 GMT -5
One, two, four, fi.... wait, what happened to three?
He escaped from Bowden penitentiary.
At approximately 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, a prisoner count at the minimum-security unit at Bowden Institution found one inmate to be missing.
Gene Moore, 29, is serving a two-year, six-month sentence for numerous driving and property-related offences.
His sentence started last August and was due to expire Feb. 3, 2007.
He was last seen at the penitentiary sometime around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, officials said.
Moore is described as a six-foot, 155- pound white male.
He has a fair complexion, brown hair and green eyes.
Bowden officials said his escape is the first of the year from their facility, a federal penitentiary near Red Deer and about 194 km south of Edmonton.
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Post by Sher on Jun 25, 2005 13:46:04 GMT -5
An Edmonton cop is facing a string of charges following a brawl outside a downtown hotel last year.
Police say the 27-year-old constable was called to back up a fellow officer after he became involved in an altercation with a man outside the York Hotel, at 10401 96 St., on Dec. 30.
The man was taken to hospital, treated for minor injuries and released.
He was subsequently charged with assaulting a peace officer.
Edmonton Police Service spokesman Dean Parthenis said the accused officer has less than five years' experience on the job. He is currently assigned to desk duty.
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The charges against the officer - including assault, mischief and obstruction of justice - were laid Thursday following an investigation by the police service's internal affairs unit.
Parthenis said it's too early to speculate on what might happen to the officer if convicted.
"It's an allegation. There are a range of possibilities depending on what the judge determines," he said.
Const. Shane Faulkner is scheduled to appear in provincial court on July 27.
No charges were laid against the other cop.
"There is no indication of behaviour warranting charges for the other officer," said Parthenis.
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Post by Sher on Jun 26, 2005 20:17:04 GMT -5
A 44-year-old-man was taken to Royal Alexandra Hospital early yesterday morning after being stabbed twice.
Police were called to a location near the intersection of 94 Avenue and 75 Street after the man had been stabbed in the chest and arm.
"He received a superficial wound to the chest, and a more serious wound to the arm," said Edmonton police Sgt. Joan Ashmore.
The victim's injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Edmonton police are looking for a suspect in his late 30s or early 40s.
Ashmore said the suspect is "likely known to the victim."
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Post by Sher on Jun 26, 2005 20:17:54 GMT -5
Nicole Elaine Letendre, Edmonton's most wanted this week, has been a very bad girl.
Letendre - serving two years for forcible confinement, assault, and hostage taking - was freed on day parole April 4 but breached conditions of her release by April 21 when she failed to return to her halfway house.
Her birthday is Oct. 1, 1975. She's five-foot-five and 190 pounds with brown hair and eyes.
Letendre is known to hang around the 118 Avenue area and has friends in the Abbotsfield area and in Carvel and Bonnyville, Alberta.
Call Crime Stoppers with tips about her whereabouts.
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Post by Sher on Jun 26, 2005 20:19:29 GMT -5
Camrose police have laid a charge of assault against a woman after investigating allegations of child abuse.
Camrose police Const. Scott Sveinbjornson said one assault charge was pressed against a 30-year-old woman.
Camrose police were investigating allegations of physical abuse against a two-year-old.
The nature of the child's injuries won't be made public over the weekend "because of child welfare issues," said Sveinbjornson.
No updates on the investigation are expected until tomorrow.
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Post by Sher on Jun 27, 2005 15:25:05 GMT -5
A suspected arsonist was found dead in the backyard of the home he had allegedly set ablaze.
Emergency crews were called to a house fire at the corner of 107 Avenue and 150 Street at approximately 1 a.m. yesterday.
The fire was out within an hour.
Police said the fire appeared to have been intentionally set.
Sgt. Joan Ashmore confirmed that "the suspect killed himself at the scene."
The man lived at the home.
Neighbours said that strangers had been seen going in and out of the house just before the blaze. Flames were seen rolling out of the windows at the back of the home.
Damage to property and goods within the home is estimated at $100,000.
Capt. Doug Anderson of Edmonton's fire department said "gasoline was used as an accelerator" by the arsonist.
Neighbours were awakened by the sounds of a a dispute at the home before the fire.
Warren Sheskey, who lives across the street with his brothers, said they heard "a loud squealing of tires" coming from the suspect's driveway minutes before firefighters arrived on the scene.
"I don't know if it was an argument or just a family dispute," he said. "And there were a lot of strange people going in and out of the house. There was a strange car with a Saskatchewan plate there the night before."
Sheskey said he and his brothers walked around to the back of the house where they saw investigators on the scene and the body of the suspect.
Sheskey said the man lived at the address with a woman, children and a dog.
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Post by Sher on Jun 28, 2005 11:43:32 GMT -5
Two Somalia-born men charged after a series of sex attacks on teenage girls near the Clareview LRT station were convicted yesterday in two of the rapes.
Mohammed Ali Hersi, 26, and Ahmed Abdullahi Farah, 31, were found guilty of sexual assault and unlawful confinement for an Oct. 5, 2003, attack on a 15-year-old girl.
Hersi was also convicted of sexual assault for raping a drunk 17-year-old girl in the laundry room of an apartment building near the LRT station on Nov. 28, 2003.
Court of Queen's Bench Justice June Ross accepted the Crown's invitation to acquit the pair on a third rape of a 17-year-old mentally challenged girl on Oct. 1, 2003.
Farah initially had also been charged with raping a 19-year-old woman on Nov. 16, 2003, but those charges were stayed earlier when the victim failed to show up at court.
A sentencing hearing is slated for tomorrow.
The 15-year-old victim testified she had gone to the Clareview area after getting drunk at a trailer park party. She said she was lured into a tent near some bushes not far from the Clareview Recreation Centre at 139 Avenue and 38 Street, after asking two men for a cigarette around 2 a.m.
Court heard the two men took turns raping the teen and she fled half-naked, wearing only a pair of socks, after being let out to go to the bathroom.
The girl was unable to identify her attackers, but the judge accepted corroborating evidence from a man who owned the tent and said he witnessed the girl fleeing after hearing the men trying to get her to do things.
The man was able to identify the attackers by name.
The 17-year-old victim who was raped in the laundry room testified two men took turns sexually assaulting her and said she was punched in the face and pushed to the floor.
She was also unable to identify her attackers; however, the judge used a confession Hersi made to police to convict him for his part in the rape.
In a videotaped police interview played in court, a 17-year-old mentally challenged girl described how two men raped her near a park by the Clareview LRT station.
But, in cross-examination, the now-18-year-old woman testified she is not sure if she actually told the men she did not want to have sex or was just thinking it.
None of the victims can be identified under a court-ordered publication ban.
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Post by Sher on Jun 28, 2005 11:44:05 GMT -5
Police continue their investigation into a Boyle Street brawl that left a 34-year-old man with severe slash wounds.
Officers were called to a hotel at 104 Avenue and 96 Street around 2:30 a.m. Saturday after receiving reports of a disturbance.
Upon arrival, they discovered a large number of people engaged in several fights.
A trail of blood led them to 104 Avenue and 93 Street where a man was nursing serious, yet non-life-threatening, slash wounds to one arm.
A machete was found near the hotel.
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Post by Sher on Jun 28, 2005 11:46:13 GMT -5
Hinton RCMP are pleading for tips after finding the body of a woman in a rural home near the mountain town.
Cops said they found the 33-year-old's body Sunday around 5:25 p.m. in her home. Investigators suspect foul play.
Residents of the city say the woman was stabbed at the home west of Hinton.
Mounties weren't releasing the victim's name yesterday, or any other information about the case.
Anyone with information is asked to call Hinton RCMP at (780) 865-2455, or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-922-TIPS.
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Post by Sher on Jun 28, 2005 11:47:06 GMT -5
Two men suspected of a home invasion in Niton Junction were arrested in Peers Sunday, thanks to the efforts of a brave teenage convenience-store clerk and her friend.
The men were taken into custody at the One Stop, a convenience store in the hamlet 177 km west of Edmonton.
The suspects are accused of invading a home in Niton Junction Sunday morning. The owner of the home declined to comment on her ordeal.
Police across Alberta were warned Sunday to be on the lookout for the suspects and a stolen truck.
When a truck matching the description was spotted in the parking lot of the One Stop, the clerk got a call from the cops.
"They asked me if I could hold the guys there," said the clerk, 18.
"So I talked to them. I acted as normal as possible."
She said two men had already spent 20 minutes in the One Stop on a coffee break. She was working alone in the store, but a 17-year-old friend was there keeping her company on what was supposed to be a dull Sunday shift.
She said the RCMP arrived 15 minutes after she got the call.
Const. James Lundblad of the Edson RCMP said the suspects gave him little trouble once they were cornered.
'They were just there in the One Stop," he said. "They didn't know I was coming."
Two men were arrested at the scene. A third suspect turned himself in to Edson RCMP.
Thomas James Berube, 22, of Leduc and Edmontonians Joseph Pappin, 19, and Daniel Christopher Whalen, 24, face charges including breaking and entering, theft over $5,000 and theft under $5,000.
All three will appear in Edson court July 5.
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Post by Sher on Jun 29, 2005 13:08:18 GMT -5
GRANDE PRAIRIE -- RCMP have launched an investigation into a mysterious illness that continues to make staff at Grande Prairie's QEII Hospital sick.
Police became involved after employees reported flu-like symptoms and memory loss while working on the fourth floor over the last nine months.
Dianne Calvert Simms, the hospital's chief operating officer, confirmed Monday that they believe staff on the north end of the floor were intentionally made ill.
"It appears that staff are being targeted and we have an RCMP investigation," she said. "I'm unable to make any further comment without jeopardizing the investigation. There have been a number of things that have happened that have been directed at staff."
Employees haven't been seriously harmed and the floor is operating as normal. There are no plans to close the floor at this point, she said.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Brent Mundle said the illnesses were of a "suspicious nature," but wasn't calling it a case of poisoning.
"Obviously we're conducting our investigation to determine what actually is the cause and is there something criminal in nature occurring," he said. "Whether that be a drugging or something of that sort, I don't know."
Jerry Macdonald, president of the United Nurses of Alberta local, said nurses are frightened by the situation.
"(The nurses) are unhappy because they're scared," he said.
The north end of the fourth floor was closed last October after a handful of hospital staff members reported vague, non-specific flu-like symptoms over several months.
It reopened in December after air-quality assessments found it was within normal limits.
In January, Peace Country Health region tested the air again after staff members reported similar symptoms.
There are 71 full-time employees who work on the fourth floor and 16 casual workers, including nurses and licensed practical nurses.
The floor handles in-patient day surgery and serves as a pre-admission clinic.
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Post by Sher on Jun 30, 2005 15:40:11 GMT -5
Hinton RCMP are pleading for tips after finding the body of a woman in a rural home near the mountain town. Cops said they found the 33-year-old's body Sunday around 5:25 p.m. in her home. Investigators suspect foul play. Residents of the city say the woman was stabbed at the home west of Hinton. Mounties weren't releasing the victim's name yesterday, or any other information about the case. Anyone with information is asked to call Hinton RCMP at (780) 865-2455, or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-922-TIPS. Thu, June 30, 2005 Police seeking clues A Hinton-area woman whose death is being treated as suspicious has been identified as Serina Susan Neufeldt. Neufeldt, 33, could not be revived by paramedics who, along with police, rushed to her home west of the town Sunday evening after receiving a call for help. Hinton RCMP suspect foul play. Residents of Hinton told the Sun earlier this week Neufeldt was stabbed. Mounties remain tight-lipped about the case and have released few details of the woman's death. Results of an autopsy have yet to be released by the medical examiner. Anyone with information is asked to call Hinton RCMP at (780) 865-2455, or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-922-TIPS
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Post by Sher on Jul 8, 2005 2:34:44 GMT -5
Two people were treated at an Edmonton hospital after an alleged home invasion in the city's downtown core yesterday.
But police say the victims, who suffered beatings at the hands of their tormentors, were unco-operative with officers.
Details are sketchy but police were called to a home near 118 Avenue and 83 Street at 1:47 a.m. where they found two people inside suffering from various wounds, said spokesman Karen Carlson.
Officers arrested two other people.
Neighbours in the area said they didn't know what had happened.
"There was a (helicopter) going up around the house," said Rhonda Moyah, 25. "I didn't have any idea because there's always action around here. It's rank here."
She said she won't allow her children to play outside because it's a popular place for johns to pick up sex-trade workers.
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Post by Sher on Jul 8, 2005 2:35:40 GMT -5
Alberta cops are hunting for an inmate who escaped a minimum-security prison in Hobbema.
At 10:15 p.m. Monday Brian Desmond Hay escaped from Pe Sakastew Centre, said prison officials in a news release.
RCMP issued a warrant for Hay's arrest. Hay began serving his four-year sentence on May 12, 2004, for armed robbery.
He is five-foot-nine and weighs 178 pounds and has a fair complexion with green eyes and brown hair.
He has tattoos on his upper torso, a surgical scar on his stomach and on his forehead.
Anyone with information about Hay is asked to call police.
The Correctional Service of Canada will conduct an investigation into the escape.
Pe Sakastew is a minimum-security prison in Hobbema that accommodates 60 inmates.
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