deadmonton 2006 - august crime report
17-hour standoff ends peacefully |
vehicle pulled over, drug bust follows |
brutal attack injures 55-year-old man |
shot then beaten, wallet stolen |
man takes mom, 77, hostage |
he had a familiar face |
police on the prowl |
human remains found, later identified
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17-hour standoff ends peacefully
At about 10:00 p.m. on August 8th, residents near 14512 Stony Plain Road heard the sound of two shots fired.
Police surrounded a condominium and Stony Plain Road was sealed off. Suites on either side of the unit were vacated as more gunfire was heard.
A 34-year-old woman living in the suite soon fled to safety and police were then involved in a standoff with a man she said was armed with two guns.
The standoff, which began as a domestic dispute, continued overnight despite efforts by police to negotiate with a lone 36-year-old gunman.
Several hours into negotiations, the man placed a 16-gauge shotgun outside his suite for police to recover.
Police held their positions, not sure he didn’t have another firearm with him inside.
The standoff disrupted the morning commute as police maintained their vigil outside the complex into the next day.
After police had not heard from the man for several hours, they lobbed tear gas into his suite before entering with stun guns and pepper spray. A neighbour said officers used a battering ram to charge through the front door.
Almost seventeen hours after the incident began, the man gave himself up.
"It was at least two hours where we couldn't make contact with him," a police spokesman said. "Officers were worried and decided to go in."
The man was found in an upstairs bedroom, where officers zapped him with a stun gun when he wouldn't surrender. When he still didn't give up, cops used pepper spray. Police also found a 22-calibre rifle and another 16-gauge shotgun.
Regarding the use of the taser, "My information is that it didn't deploy properly," the spokesman said.
The man was taken to hospital for treatment for gas inhalation —- standard procedure for when gas is used.
It was not known how the man received injuries to his arm.
Trevor Lyn Miners, 36, was charged with two counts of careless use of a firearm, one count of pointing a firearm, two counts of possession of an offensive weapon dangerous to the public, two counts of knowingly possessing weapons without proper license, and one count of discharging a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Miners was remanded in custody and was due back in court August 16th.
Police later discovered a bullet lodged in the tire of one of their vehicles.
"He definitely fired in the direction of police," said a police inspector. "We actually dug a bullet out of the front tire of the police car."
Vehicle pulled over, drug bust follows
Edmonton police gang unit officers pulled over a vehicle near 107 Avenue and 109 Street on August 10th. Inside the vehicle they found Scott Bryan Williamson, 29, more than kilogram of cocaine and $40,000 in cash.
Police then executed a search warrant on a residence at 99 Avenue and 105 Street that Williamson was connected to.
There police found Christina Dawn Gadke, 23, another 1.3 kilos of cocaine (in both crack and powdered form) and $150,000 cash. Two handguns were also seized.
Williamson was charged with possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000 and two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking.
Gadke was charged with possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000, two counts of possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, three counts of careless storage of a firearm and ammmunition, possession of a loaded restricted firearm, three counts of knowingly possessing a restricted weapon and two counts of possession of a firearm with a tampered serial number.
Brutal attack injures 55-year-old man
At 2:00 a.m. on August 11th paramedics were called to a stairway at Victoria Composite high school, near 107 Avenue and 104 Street.
There they found a 55-year-old man who had been beaten with a temporary traffic sign. The man unresponsive and bleeding from the head but he was expected to live.
Police searched for three men without success and didn’t have a motive for the assault.
Sgt. Guy Kinney said, “He took a beating for no apparent reason.”
The attack took place in one of the areas Police Chief Mike Boyd said would get attention from his crime reduction strategy. The chief had pledged to cut crime by 14% over the next year.
Also mentioned in the strategy were the 118 Avenue strip, Whyte Avenue and Stony Plain Road.
Shot then beaten, wallet stolen
A 26-year-old man was walking near his Mill Woods home at 6918 29 Avenue at 12:36 p.m. on August 11th when two men shot him numerous times with a pellet gun.
The man was then beaten and robbed of his wallet.
He described his attackers as two black men, six-foot-three to six-foot-five and 180 pounds each.
The man's injuries were not life-threatening but he did require a stay in hospital.
Man takes mom, 77, hostage
On August 12th at around 3:20 p.m. police said they received a frantic 911 call from a woman saying her friend was being held against her will at 17511 77 Avenue.
"The caller told police that the woman's 45-year-old son was armed with a gun and was intoxicated," said a police spokesman.
Police responded and while securing the area to ensure the safety of neighbouring residents, they spotted the son and his 77-year-old mother exit the home and walk towards their garage.
A man was arrested and no one was injured in the incident.
"A subsequent search of the residence resulted in the discovery of two older rifles," a spokesman said, adding no ammunition was found.
No charges were laid at the time of the incident.
He had a familiar face
Old habits are hard to break.
At about 2:20 a.m. on August 13th, police stopped a vehicle at 113th Avenue and 124th Street after they observed a suspected drug transaction going down.
When they took the car apart during their search, police found a can of bear spray and about two grams of methamphetamine. They also found themselves dealing, again, with Robert Cormier.
Cormier, now 32, was at the centre of a police shooting that took place on March 1st, 2004 at 12802 126 Street.
Police were looking for the career criminal inside the residence when he jumped out of a back basement bedroom and blasted them with bear spray.
When Cormier fled out a back door, veteran cop Det. Gerry Vercammen gave chase. Vercammen fired twice, and then shot twice more as Cormier ran from the yard. He was later arrested at a nearby home.
Cormier was charged with 13 offences, including assaulting a police officer. The Crown withdrew all but one of the charges in 2005 and Cormier was sentenced to one day in jail for robbery.
In March 2006 Vercammen was cleared of two charges, careless use of a firearm and pointing a firearm, relating to the matter.
Cormier filed a $110,000 lawsuit against Vercammen and other officers alleging they illegally entered his home and unlawfully shot at him while he was protecting himself and his family.
In connection with the latest incident, Cormier was charged with possession of an offensive weapon, personation with intent, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a weapon contrary to a prohibition order.
Police on the prowl
Strathcona RCMP and Edmonton city police continue to investigate activity in rural areas east of the city.
Early in the morning of August 14th, 2006 police stopped and checked people in two vehicles after they were observed driving near a Strathcona County spot known as a haven for prostitutes and johns.
Edmonton police assisted the RCMP in pulling over one of the vehicles -– a white Ford pickup truck –- on Victoria Trail at about 5:50 a.m.
No arrests were made and no charges were laid as a result of the stops. However, information on the vehicles stopped and the people inside was forwarded to Project KARE.
Human remains found, later identified
Updated September 19th, 2006
At about 10:21 p.m. on August 28th, 2006 authorities were called to check on scattered bones found in a heavily bushed area on a steep hillside between 82nd and 90th Street below Jasper Avenue.
It could initially not be determined if the remains were male or female and the wide scattering indicated the body had been visited by animals.
A Bissell Centre spokesman said the area is popular with the homeless because it's secluded and quiet.
On September 6th, 2006 the medical examiner’s office identified the remains as those of James Rolheiser, 52, of Edmonton.
On September 19th, 2006 the sister of James Rolheiser took exception to an Edmonton Sun report that quoted a shelter spokesman as saying her brother was homeless.
A full recounting of Rolheiser's last months and Edmonton's growing homeless population can be found on the James Rolheiser page.