Connect with us

Crime

Red Deer RCMP recent arrests include seizures of fentanyl and carfentanil

Published

6 years ago

9 minute read

February 9, 2018

Red Deer, Alberta – Recent arrests by Red Deer RCMP have involved seizures of fentanyl and carfentanil, property crimes and fraud, and the continued focus on prolific offenders who fail to comply with court-imposed conditions. Many arrests have been thanks to targeted patrols in areas that show high levels of criminal activity, as part of Red Deer’s Pinpoint crime reduction strategy. Pinpoint uses an intelligence-driven policing model to identify problem areas, prolific offenders and emerging issues, and Red Deer RCMP target their enforcement accordingly.

February 5 – 2018157742
At 1:15 am on February 5, RCMP on patrol in downtown Red Deer located a woman who was wanted on outstanding warrants. During her arrest, RCMP seized crystal meth.

44 year old Tamara Dawn Johnson faces the following charges:
· CDSA 4(1) – Possession of Schedule I substance X 2
· Criminal Code 145(3) – Fail to comply with conditions
Johnson is scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on February 13 at 8:30 am.

January 31 – 2018139725
At 10:15 pm on January 31, RCMP on patrol in downtown Red Deer located a female suspect who was wanted on a number of outstanding warrants from four separate files. During her arrest, police seized methamphetamine and carfentanil.

In addition to her warrants, 34 year old Tomasina Ballentyne faces the following charges:
· CDSA 4(1) – Possession of Schedule I substance X 2
· Criminal Code 145(3) – Fail to comply with conditions X 2
Ballentyne was remanded to appear in court on February 2; she is scheduled to appear again on February 12 at 9:30 am.

January 31 – 2018135103
Shortly before 2 am on January 31, RCMP on patrol in a high crime area located a suspicious vehicle; as they approached, the male driver fled on foot but was arrested after a brief foot chase. RCMP seized a baggie of fentanyl and approximately $1,700 as proceeds of crime.

40 year old Ryan Michael Simoneau faces a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking (CDSA 5(1)); he is scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on February 20 at 8:30 am.

January 31/ 30 – 2018138969/ 2018134164/ 20171260250
Shortly before 6 pm on January 31, RCMP responded to a report of a theft suspect being pursued by retail security staff after the theft of a backpack from a fitness facility. The suspect fled on foot and was seen getting on a Red Deer Transit bus. RCMP located the bus, executed a traffic stop, and removed the suspect. There was no impact on riders or interruption of transit service as a result of the arrest.

The suspect had been arrested the day before by Red Deer RCMP at a north end restaurant after police responded to a report of a disturbance and determined that the suspect was wanted on outstanding warrants after failing to appear in court on charges related to the theft of client items from a different fitness facility in September.

30 year old William James Webb faces the following charges for both incidents:
· Criminal Code 334(b) – Theft under $5,000 X 2
· Criminal Code 355(b) – Possession of stolen property under $5,000
· Criminal Code 145(5) – Fail to comply with conditions
· Criminal Code 145(2)(a) – Fail to attend court
Webb was scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on February 8 on one charge and on March 23 at 9:30 am for the others. He did not attend court today and the possession of stolen property charge has now gone to warrant status.

January 30 – 20171520442
Red Deer RCMP located and arrested 32 year old Jessie Singh Dodd, who was wanted on warrants after failing to appear in court regarding a November file in which he resisted arrest and was found to be in possession of weapons in violation of his probation. He appeared in court in Red Deer on February 2 and is scheduled to appear again on February 23 at 9:30 am.

January 29 – 2018126031
RCMP on patrol in a high crime area shortly after 1 am on January 29 located a stolen vehicle occupied by a male suspect. RCMP moved into position to surround the vehicle in case of an attempted flight from police, and initiated a traffic stop. The suspect was taken into custody without incident and police seized methamphetamine from him; at the time of his arrest, he was found to be breaching several court-imposed conditions.

51 year old Gordon Edouard Cameron faces the following charges:
· Criminal Code 355(a) – Possession of stolen property over $5,000
· Criminal Code 145(5.1) – Fail to comply with conditions X 2
· CDSA 4(1) – Possession of Schedule I substance
Cameron was remanded to appear in court in Red Deer on January 31; his next court appearance is scheduled for February 28 at 9:30 am.

January 25 – 2018108796/ 20171675122
In the early hours of January 25, Red Deer RCMP located two men in a vehicle in a high crime area who were wanted on numerous outstanding warrants; one was found to be breaching several court-imposed conditions at the time of his arrest, including a curfew condition and conditions not to be in a vehicle if he was not the registered owner.

42 year old Kirk Kuske was wanted on six warrants out of Ponoka for possession of stolen property (X 2), evade police, theft, obstruction, and operating a motor vehicle while disqualified. He now faces additional charges of:
· Criminal Code 145(3) – Fail to comply with conditions X 2
· Criminal Code 259(4) – Operate motor vehicle while disqualified
Kuske was remanded to appear in court in Red Deer on January 26; he is scheduled to appear again on February 13 at 9:30 am.

49 year old Craig Oliver was wanted on eight warrants out of Red Deer for fraud under $5,000 000 (CC 380(1)(b)) after Red Deer RCMP identified him as a suspect in repeated frauds committed at a local grocery store, where he is alleged to have used stolen credit cards to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of product over multiple visits. RCMP identified him after obtaining surveillance images and issued arrest warrants for eight separate incidents of fraud between September and December of 2017.

Craig Oliver made his first court appearance in Red Deer on February 6 and is scheduled to appear again on February 26 at 8:30 am.

January 24 – 201885973
On January 24, Red Deer RCMP located a man who was wanted on a warrant after RCMP conducting curfew checks on January 20 determined that he was violating his court-imposed curfew. Red Deer RCMP conduct curfew checks on identified individuals as part of Pinpoint, the Red Deer RCMP crime reduction strategy that targets prolific offenders, crime hot spots and problem residences.

28 year old Brandon William Wallner faces a charge of failing to comply with conditions and was remanded to appear in court in Red Deer on January 30; his next court appearance is scheduled for February 13 at 8:30 am.

January 24 – 2018106290
At 1:30 pm on January 24, RCMP responded to a report of shoplifters in a downtown store. RCMP attended and retrieved surveillance images of the male and female suspects, then located them nearby in the downtown. The female suspect was in possession of the stolen items at the time of her arrest.

23 year old Lateesha Flodell was wanted on three outstanding warrants out of Lacombe at the time of her arrest; she was charged with an additional charge of theft under $5,000 and was scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on February 2. Flodell did not appear in court and those charges have now gone to warrant status.

Related Topics:

President Todayville Inc., Honorary Colonel 41 Signal Regiment, Board Member Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award Foundation, Director Canadian Forces Liaison Council (Alberta) musician, photographer, former VP/GM CTV Edmonton.

Follow Author

More from this author
Alberta / 1 year ago

41 Signal Regiment trains for winter survival at CFB Wainwright

Central Alberta / 1 year ago

Local artist records original song for Remembrance Day with video showcasing Red Deer’s military history

Community / 2 years ago

Glenn Anderson adds some colour to the “Day of Golf”

Addictions

Why can’t we just say no?

Published on April 27, 2024

By

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Susan Martinuk

Drug use and violence have become common place in hospitals. Drug-addicted patients openly smoke meth and fentanyl, and inject heroin. Dealers traffic illicit drugs.  Nurses are harassed, forced to work amidst the toxic fumes from drugs and can’t confiscate weapons. In short, according to one nurse, “We’ve absolutely lost control.”

“Defining deviancy down” is a cultural philosophy that emerged in the United States during the 1990s.

It refers to society’s tendency to adjust its standards of deviancy “down,” so that behaviours which were once unacceptable become acceptable.  Over time, this newly- acceptable behaviour can even become society’s norm.

Of course, the converse must also be true — society looks down on those who label social behaviours “wrong,” deeming them moralistic, judgemental or simply out of touch with the realities of modern life.

Thirty years later, this philosophy is entrenched in British Columbia politics and policies. The province has become a society that cannot say “no” to harmful or wrong behaviours related to drug use. It doesn’t matter if you view drug use as a medical issue, a law-and-order issue, or both – we have lost the ability to simply say “no” to harmful or wrong behaviour.

That much has become abundantly clear over the past two weeks as evidence mounts that BC’s experiment with decriminalization and safe supply of hard drugs is only making things worse.

A recently-leaked memo from BC’s Northern Health Authority shows the deleterious impact these measures have had on BC’s hospitals.

The memo instructs staff at the region’s hospitals to tolerate and not intervene with illegal drug use by patients.  Apparently, staff should not be taking away any drugs or personal items like a knife or other weapons under four inches long.  Staff cannot restrict visitors even if they are openly bringing illicit drugs into the hospital and conducting their drug transactions in the hallways.

The public was quite rightly outraged at the news and BC’s Health Minister Adrian Dix quickly attempted to contain the mess by saying that the memo was outdated and poorly worded.

But his facile excuses were quickly exposed by publication of the very clearly worded memo and by nurses from across the province who came forward to tell their stories of what is really happening in our hospitals.

The President of the BC Nurses Union, Adriane Gear, said the issue was “widespread” and “of significant magnitude.” She commented that the problems in hospitals spiked once the province decriminalized drugs. In a telling quote, she said, “Before there would be behaviours that just wouldn’t be tolerated, whereas now, because of decriminalization, it is being tolerated.”

Other nurses said the problem wasn’t limited to the Northern Health Authority. They came forward (both anonymously and openly) to say that drug use and violence have become common place in hospitals. Drug-addicted patients openly smoke meth and fentanyl, and inject heroin. Dealers traffic illicit drugs.  Nurses are harassed, forced to work amidst the toxic fumes from drugs and can’t confiscate weapons. In short, according to one nurse, “We’ve absolutely lost control.”

People think that drug policies have no impact on those outside of drug circles – but what about those who have to share a room with a drug-smoking patient?

No wonder healthcare workers are demoralized and leaving in droves. Maybe it isn’t just related to the chaos of Covid.

The shibboleth of decriminalization faced further damage when Fiona Wilson, the deputy chief of Vancouver’s Police Department, testified before a federal Parliamentary committee to say that the policy has been a failure. There have been more negative impacts than positive, and no decreases in overdose deaths or the overdose rate. (If such data emerged from any other healthcare experiment, it would immediately be shut down).

Wison also confirmed that safe supply drugs are being re-directed to illegal markets and now account for 50% of safe supply drugs that are seized. Her words echoed those of BC’s nurses when she told the committee that the police, “have absolutely no authority to address the problem of drug use.”

Once Premier David Eby and Health Minister Adrian Dix stopped denying that drug use was occurring in hospitals, they continued their laissez-faire approach to illegal drugs with a plan to create “safe consumption sites” at hospitals. When that lacked public appeal, Mr. Dix said the province would establish a task force to study the issue.

What exactly needs to be studied?

The NDP government appears to be uninformed, at best, and dishonest, at worst. It has backed itself into a corner and is now taking frantic and even ludicrous steps to legitimize its experimental policy of decriminalization. The realities that show it is not working and is creating harm towards others and toward institutions that should be a haven for healing.

How quickly we have become a society that lacks the moral will – and the moral credibility – to just to say “no.”

Susan Martinuk is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and author of Patients at Risk: Exposing Canada’s Health-care Crisis.

Continue Reading

Alberta

Former senior financial advisor charged with embezzling millions from Red Deer area residents

Published on April 26, 2024

By

News release from Alberta RCMP

Former senior financial advisor charged for misappropriating nearly $5 million from clients

On April 4, 2024, the RCMP’s Provincial Financial Crime Team charged a Calgary resident for fraud-related offences after embezzling millions of dollars from his clients while serving as a senior financial advisor.

Following a thorough investigation, the accused is alleged to have fraudulently withdrawn funds from client accounts and deposited them into bank accounts he personally controlled. A total of sixteen victims were identified in the Red Deer area and suffered a combined loss of nearly $5 million.

Marc St. Pierre, 52, a resident of Calgary, was arrested and charged with:

  • Fraud over $5,000 contrary to section 380(1)(a) of the Criminal Code; and,
  • Theft over $5,000 contrary to section 344(a) of the Criminal Code.

St. Pierre is scheduled to appear in Red Deer Provincial Court on May 14, 2024.

“The ability for financial advisors to leverage their position to conduct frauds and investment scams represents a significant risk to the integrity of Alberta’s financial institutions. The investigation serves as an important reminder for all banking clients to regularly check their accounts for any suspicious activity and to report it to their bank’s fraud prevention team.”

  • Sgt. John Lamming, Provincial Financial Crime Team

The Provincial Financial Crime Team is a specialized unit that conducts investigations relating to multi-jurisdictional serious fraud, investments scams and corruption.

Continue Reading

Trending

X