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Crime

Red Deer RCMP seize 29 firearms in search warrants

Published

6 years ago

5 minute read

Red Deer, Alberta – A man and a woman face a total of almost 200 criminal charges after Red Deer RCMP executed search warrants on a storage locker in north Red Deer on November 5 and a residence on November 22, seizing 29 firearms, four crossbows, ammunition and stolen property including dirt bikes, identity documents and electronics; the searches are part of a larger crime reduction strategy that focuses on identifying prolific offenders and conducting targeted, intelligence-led investigations.

Shortly before 6 pm on November 5, RCMP officers from the Red Deer Community Response Unit (CRU) executed a search warrant on a storage locker located at 4904 79 Street in Red Deer. Police officers seized 25 rifles, three shotguns, four crossbows and two pellet guns. Police also seized tools, bicycles, dirt bikes, chainsaws, a generator and electronics equipment. The firearms were stored in a large hockey bag, a sleeping bag, a ski bag and gun cases. At this point, Red Deer RCMP have determined that eight of the firearms were reported stolen, one of the dirt bikes was reported stolen out of Red Deer on October 28 in a break and enter, and the other dirt bike was reported stolen out of Lacombe area during a break and enter on November 1; RCMP continue to investigate regarding the other pieces of recovered property. 

On November 22, RCMP officers from Red Deer GIS conducted a second search warrant at a residence on 58 Avenue in Highland Green and seized a shotgun that was stored under the couch in the living room, a magazine from another firearm, a replica firearm, methamphetamine, large amounts of ammunition and numerous other items including a laptop and an Xbox that had been reported stolen in several recent residential break and enters, and stolen identity documents.

“These seizures, arrests and charges are a significant example of the crime reduction work we do every day in Red Deer, identifying and targeting repeat offenders through criminal analysis, and conducting strategic, targeted enforcement initiatives,” says Superintendent Ken Foster of the Red Deer RCMP. “The great work done by our Red Deer police officers took 29 firearms out of the hands of criminals and broke up an organized network that relies on regular property crime activity for their livelihood.”

25 year old Andrew Scott Charpentier faces a total of 100 charges regarding the November 5 and 22 warrants:

·         Criminal Code 91(1) – Unauthorized possession of firearm X 29

·         Criminal Code 96(1) – Possession stolen firearm X 28

·         Criminal Code 86(1) – Careless use of firearm or ammunition X 28

·         Criminal Code 91(2) – Unauthorized possession of weapon

·         Criminal Code 108(1)(b) – Possession of firearm with altered serial number

·         Criminal Code 56.1 – Illegal possession or trafficking in government documents X 3

·         Criminal Code 145(5.1) – Fail to comply with undertaking X 2

·         Criminal Code 355(b) – Possession of stolen property under $5,000 X 7

·         CDSA 4(1) – Possession of Schedule I substance (crystal meth)

Charpentier was remanded and appeared in court in Red Deer on December 5; he is scheduled to appear again on December 12 at 9:30 am on both files. 

25 year old Kelsey Pearl Torpe faces a total of 98 charges regarding the November 5 and 22 warrants:

·         Criminal Code 91(1) – Unauthorized possession of firearm X 29

·         Criminal Code 96(1) – Possession stolen firearm X 28

·         Criminal Code 86(1) – Careless use of a firearm X 28

·         Criminal Code 91(2) – Unauthorized possession of weapon

·         Criminal Code 108(1)(b) – Possession of firearm with altered serial number

·         Criminal Code 56.1 – Illegal possession or trafficking in government documents X 3

·         Criminal Code 355(b) – Possession of stolen property under $5,000 X 7

·         CDSA 4(1) – Possession of Schedule I substance (crystal meth)

 Torpe is scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on December 12 at 9:30 am on one of the two search warrant files and on December 19 at 9:30 am on the second.

 The Red Deer RCMP crime reduction model is a targeted, evidence-based approach to policing. It uses intelligence-driven analysis to identify repeat offenders, prolific addresses and crime hot spots, and conduct targeted enforcement initiatives with the goal of reducing crime in Red Deer. General duty watches and specialized units work together with Parole and Probation to identify and monitor prolific offenders.

 Click on the CRIME tab to read more stories about crime in the area.

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Alberta

Operation ICE Tundra addresses child exploitation offences in Grande Prairie

Published on December 7, 2023

By

News release from the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team

Five child sexual exploitation suspects are facing charges as part of Operation ICE Tundra.  ALERT Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit made the arrests in response to an increase in child sexual exploitation offences in Grande Prairie.

ICE executed a total of seven search warrants on seven homes with assistance from Grande Prairie RCMP between November 27-30, 2023. While the investigations were independent of one another, they shared the common thread of individuals uploading and accessing child sexual abuse material over the internet.

Operation ICE Tundra was initiated in October after investigators noticed an increase in case referrals originating from Grande Prairie. ICE receives case referrals from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Center.

“An operation of this scale isn’t possible every day, but it’s important our unit creates a presence in smaller communities, showing that we will not tolerate this abuse against children. When these types of files are shared online, it’s the children who are the victims and are revictimized each time that file is shared,” said Sgt. Kerry Shima, ALERT ICE.

During the investigation, ICE relied on its Mobile Evidence Recovery Technology Lab (MERTL) to allow forensic technicians to rapidly conduct a preliminary analysis of electronic devices and computers seized from the homes.

“Our intention is always to support and protect the community and we recognize that throughout Alberta our job is to protect not only the community, but the children and vulnerable youth in the community. Grande Prairie should be assured that we’re up there working with them,” Shima added.

Full forensic analysis is ongoing, which may lead to additional arrests, charges, or the identification of potential victims.

To date, the following individuals have been charged with access, possession and transmitting child pornography in Operation ICE Tundra:

  • Christopher Nanemahoo, 34-years old;
  • Patrick L’Hirondelle, 29-years old;
  • Stuart Kuechle, 36-years old;
  • Naitram Ramnarane, 56-years old; and
  • Dwayne Dyer, 46-years old.

Dyer is also being charged with firearms-related offences as three firearms inside his home were being unsafely stored.

ICE does not believe the suspects are known to one another, and the investigations do not appear to be connected.

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.

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Crime

Ireland vows to crack down on ‘hate speech’ after knife attack by Algerian immigrant

Published on November 30, 2023

By

Senator Pauline O’Reilly

From LifeSiteNews

By Paul Bennett

‘We are restricting freedom for the common good,’ Ireland’s Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly told the Irish Senate

The Irish government have blamed recent unrest on the “far-right” and vowed to fast track freedom-curbing “hate speech” legislation before Christmas.

The November 23 riots were in response to a barbaric knife attack on innocent children and a daycare employee in central Dublin by a 50-year-old Algerian immigrant earlier that day. Leanne Flynn and three children were wounded.

Addressing the nation at Dublin Castle after the stabbings, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar crudely prioritized legislating hate speech laws to tackle the growing public unrest in Ireland over key issues such as mass immigration.

“It’s now obvious to anyone who might have doubted it that our incitement to hatred legislation is just not up to date for the social media age and we need that legislation through,” Varadkar said.

“And we need it through in a matter of weeks because it’s not just the platforms that have responsibility here, and they do, it’s also the individuals who past messages and images online that stir hatred and violence. We need to be able to use laws to go after them individually.”

As a result of a coordinated government response to tackle ‘hate speech’, the Republic of Ireland’s new Online Safety Media Commission have urged the Irish public to report any “hate speech” to the Gardai (Irish police) in the aftermath of last week’s unforeseen stabbings and riot in Dublin.

The newly established Irish online media regulator approved by the European Commission, Coimisiún na Meán, is currently overseeing what is being billed as online safety in Europe in a move to tackle hate speech and disinformation.

Immediately after the November 23 riot, the online regulators made Ireland the first EU member state to activate an alert under new Digital Services Act (DSA) rules. The activation alerted the European Commission to contact large social media companies within hours of the riot in Dublin, to remind them of their legal obligations regarding dissemination of illegal online content, threats, hate speech, and “disinformation.”

On November 28, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin told the Irish parliament that online regulators are “calling for those who see hate speech or other illegal content online to report it to platforms or to the Gardai.”

In the midst of growing tension and concern about mass immigration, housing, and crime in communities across the country, the Irish government are instead planning to pass legislation to curb freedom of speech. The new Hate Speech Bill is considered one of the strictest draconian hate speech legislations in the world.

The Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 (the Hate Speech Bill) will criminalize any speech that is “likely to incite hatred, or violence” against so-called “protected groups.”

The legislation vaguely defines “hatred” as “hatred against a person or a group of persons in the [Irish] State or elsewhere on account of their protected characteristics.” The protected characteristics includes race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, and religion.

The radical bill outlines how merely possessing “hateful” content on your devices or having signs, posters and banners that could incite “hatred” could lead to criminal charges and upwards to five years of imprisonment.

Authorities will be allowed to seize all electronic devices, including phones, laptops, and tablets, and force individuals to hand over passwords, even if no crime has been committed.

Independent Irish Senator Sharon Keogan believes the main objective of the hate speech bill is “partly designed to keep political dissenters quiet.”

In a viral video that got international attention, a Green Party Senator called Pauline O’Reilly revealed the true nature of the radical hate speech laws during a discussion about the proposed legislation in the Irish Senate.

“When you think about it, all law, all legislation is about the restriction of freedom. That’s exactly what we are doing here,” she said. “We are restricting freedom, but we are doing it for the common good.”

On social media platform, X, Ohio Senator James David Vance reacted to the viral video of the Irish Senator by saying if this was in “Russia, or China or many other nations we would call it totalitarian and threaten economic sanctions.”

Elon Musk, owner of X has called the planned legislation a “massive attack against freedom of speech.”

The Hate Speech Bill was passed in the Irish Parliament in April 2023 and is currently now at a committee stage in the Senate.

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