Child Endangerment Among Charges Laid in Fort McMurray Investigations

From Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT)

RCMP contact Alberta Children’s Services after young child found in home where arrests were made.

Three people have been arrested – including two on charges of child endangerment – and nearly $70,000 worth of drugs and cash have been seized following a pair of investigations by ALERT’s organized crime team in Fort McMurray.

On April 17, 2019, ALERT investigators, with the assistance of Wood Buffalo RCMP, executed a search warrant at a home in the Timberlea subdivision. There, they were able to seize more than $58,000 worth of drugs and cash, including 151 grams of cocaine, 78 grams of MDMA powder, 389 grams of cannabis, and $33,230 in cash proceeds of crime.

Two people were arrested and charged with numerous offenses, including some under Alberta’s Drug Endangered Children Act after a young child was found at the home. Alberta Children’s Services was notified.

ALERT is not providing the names of the accused in this investigation in order to protect the identity of the child. The two people arrested, 32 and 23, have each been charged with:

possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking (x2);
possession of proceeds of crime;
possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling without authorization; and
child endangerment.

In a separate investigation, ALERT executed a search warrant at an apartment building in the Eagle Ridge subdivision on March 29, 2019. In this instance, investigators seized approximately $11,000 worth of drugs and cash, including 100 grams of crack cocaine, 88 grams of a cocaine buffing agent, and $955 in cash proceeds of crime.

Varinder Singh, a 25-year-old man, was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime.

Members of the public who suspect drug or gang activity in their community can call local police, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is always anonymous.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime. Members of Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, Lethbridge Police Service, Medicine Hat Police Service, and RCMP work in ALERT.

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After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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UCP asks Albertans to consider an Alberta Pension Plan

Published on September 22, 2023

Todayville

News release from the United Conservative party

The Government of Alberta is starting a public engagement to discuss the possibility of creating an Alberta Pension Plan.

You might be wondering, what’s in it for you? Learn more by watching the short video below:

The government is eager to hear your views. To find more information, and participate in a survey, tap the button below.

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Albertans deserve a pension plan that reflects their hard work and earnings, and it is up to Albertans to decide which pension plan that is.

-Your UCP Team

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Alberta

Police arrest two more people following killing of eight-year-old girl in Alberta

Published on September 22, 2023

The Canadian Press

An Edmonton Police Service logo is shown at a press conference in Edmonton, Oct. 2, 2017. Police in Edmonton have charged two more people following the killing of an eight-year-old girl whose remains were found on a First Nation south of the provincial capital in April. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Edmonton

Police in Edmonton have charged two more people following the killing of an eight-year-old girl whose remains were found on a First Nation south of the provincial capital.

Officers responded on April 24 to a welfare call about the girl at an Edmonton home but were unable to locate her.

Her remains were discovered five days later on the Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis.

Shayden Lightning, who is 21, and Raighne Stoney, who is 36, have been charged with being an accessory to murder and causing an indignity to a body.

Three others were initially charged in the case.

Police are not releasing the names of two of the accused in order to protect the identities of other children related to the victim, whose identity is under a publication ban.

A 27-year-old woman faces a charge of first-degree murder and a 25-year-old man faces charges of being an accessory to murder and causing an indignity to a body.

Edward Nievera, 67, was charged with being an accessory to murder and causing an indignity to a body.

Edmonton police Staff Sgt. Colin Leathem said in a release Friday that the recent arrests will be the last in the case and that the investigation has concluded.

“We want to thank the RCMP in Maskwacis and Wetaskiwin for their assistance with this investigation,” he said. “Needless to say, this was an exceptionally distressing investigation to work on, and they went above and beyond in helping to facilitate these final arrests and bring this file to conclusion.

“While nothing can change the horror of what occurred, we hope (the arrests) can provide some measure of justice to those who knew and loved this little girl.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2023.