Thorsby/Breton – RCMP Major Crimes North Lay Charges in Fatal Pedestrian Hit & Run

Todayville

Published

7 years ago

6 minute read

Thorsby, Alberta – The RCMP Major Crimes Unit have made an arrest and laid charges against 27-year-old Mitchell Robert Sydlowski of Spruce Grove in the death of Ki Yun Jo.

On October 6, 2017 a hit and run occurred at the Fas Gas service station resulting in the death of 54-year-old Ki Yun Jo. A stolen white cube van was seen to flee the Fas Gas after not paying for gas. The owner of the service station, Ki Yun Jo, made efforts to stop the van and was fatally injured when he was struck by the van.

The RCMP Major Crimes Unit (North) took carriage of this investigation and have been diligently investigating, including following up on all possible leads. This incident was witnessed by several people and impacted the community. On May 25, Sydlowski was arrested by the RCMP at the Edmonton Remand Centre. He has been charged with: Second degree murder, fail to remain at the scene of an accident causing death, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and theft under $5,000. A bail hearing was held on May 26 and the matter has been set over to Tuesday, May 29 at the Provincial court in Wetaskiwin.

“An investigation into a homicide remains active until it’s solved” says Sergeant Bryce Long of the RCMP Major Crimes Unit. “Our team has worked hard on this investigation, and seeing these charges laid brings a great sense of closure not only to the Major Crimes Unit, but to the community at large and particularly the family of Ki Yun Jo.”

Background:

UPDATE #4

October 16, 2017

Thorsby/Breton RCMP locate suspect cube van involved in fatal pedestrian hit & run

Thorsby, Alberta – The stolen white Ford cube van, involved in a fatal pedestrian hit & run in Thorsby, has been located by the RCMP, abandoned, in a rural area southwest of Devon. The van was recovered near Range Road 275 and Township Road 502.

The RCMP Edmonton Major Crimes Unit continue to solicit tips from anyone who may have noted someone suspicious in that area on October 6, 2017. Any piece of information may become valuable in assisting to identify the suspect and solve this investigation.

October 8, 2017

*Update 3* – Thorsby/Bretton RCMP Investigate Fatal Pedestrian Hit and Run

Thorsby, Alberta – The RCMP continue to investigate the fatal hit and run collision occurring on October 6, 2017 at a Fas Gas service station in Thorsby, Alberta. Extensive efforts have been made to locate the white 2006 Ford cube van; however, the suspect vehicle has yet to be located.

Mr. Ki Yun Jo has been identified as the victim in this incident. The 54 year old was the owner/operator of the service station. Investigators and family are reaching out to the public for information which may help identify suspects or locate the suspect vehicle.

The suspect vehicle in this case was stolen from Spruce Grove on October 6, 2017 at approximately 2:00 p.m. before driving to Thorsby. If anyone observed the suspect vehicle in Spruce Grove during this time they are encouraged to please call the Thorsby/Breton RCMP at (780)789-3951.

October 6, 2017

*Update 2* Thorsby/Breton RCMP Investigate Fatal Pedestrian Hit and Run

Thorsby, Alberta – Investigators are releasing a photograph of a suspect vehicle believed to have been involved in a fatal hit and run in Thorsby earlier today.

The suspect vehicle is described as being a medium sized white commercial vehicle cube van with unique decaling on the side. The vehicle is believed to have been stolen.

If you have information about this incident or vehicle, please call the Thorsby/Breton RCMP at (780)789-3951.

October 6, 2017

*Update 1* Thorsby/Breton RCMP Investigate Fatal Pedestrian Hit and Run

Thorsby, Alberta – The Next of Kin of the victim have been notified and more information may now be shared.

At 3:45 p.m., a medium sized commercial vehicle failed to pay for its gas at the Fas Gas service station in Thorsby. As the vehicle drove away an employee of the gas station attempted to stop or gain the attention of the driver. The employee was subsequently struck by the vehicle and the vehicle fled the scene.

The 54 year old victim succumbed to his injuries on scene.

Efforts to locate the suspect vehicle are underway. Further information regarding the vehicle will be released once confirmed.

October 6, 2017

Thorsby/Breton RCMP Investigate Fatal Pedestrian Hit and

Thorsby, Alberta – The Thorsby/Breton RCMP are currently on scene of a fatal hit and run collision involving a pedestrian. The collision occurred at approximately 3:45 P.M. near the Thorsby Fas Gas. A medium sized commercial vehicle was seen leaving the collision and has yet to be located.

The next of kin has not been notified and investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collision continues.

Details regarding the suspect vehicle will be forthcoming as soon as details are known.

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While Ohtani marches into MLB history, Nippon league’s shame lingers

Crime / 14 hours ago

RCMP Bust Industrial-Scale Superlab Outside Toronto

Opinion / 18 hours ago

A Nation of Announcements: Canada’s Government of Empty Promises

Crime

RCMP Bust Industrial-Scale Superlab Outside Toronto

Published on October 26, 2025

Todayville

Sam Cooper

A months-long RCMP investigation has led to the takedown of a massive synthetic-drug operation resembling the “super labs” often found in British Columbia — but this one was discovered just forty-five minutes north of Toronto. Officers uncovered an industrial-scale facility capable of producing millions of dollars’ worth of fentanyl, methamphetamine, MDMA, and GHB.

The RCMP’s Ontario Federal Policing unit announced Friday that search warrants executed on September 7 in Schomberg, northwest of Toronto, resulted in the seizure of nearly $10 million in suspected controlled substances, along with prohibited weapons, chemical precursors, and a range of illegal production equipment.

In addition to cash, drugs, and chemicals, officers discovered a pill press, firearms, handwritten drug “recipes,” flasks, chemical glassware, and other lab components. Approximately 20,000 litres of hazardous waste were also removed from the site.

Investigators say the probe began in spring 2025, when officers detected a suspicious bulk-chemical order placed by Christopher O’Quinn, operating under the business name O’Quinn Industries. “The chemicals ordered are known to police to be used in the production of fentanyl, MDMA, methamphetamine, and for cannabis extraction,” the RCMP said.

After weeks of surveillance, RCMP officers uncovered what they describe as a large-scale clandestine lab hidden on a Schomberg property. Dismantling the facility required coordination with the Ontario Fire Marshal, Health Canada, and municipal emergency services — a hazardous-materials operation that lasted ten days.

Three suspects — O’Quinn, Liang Xiong Guo, and Katie King — were arrested and face a combined 33 criminal charges.

O’Quinn faces 20 offences, including production and trafficking of Schedule I substances, possession of precursor chemicals, and multiple weapons violations involving a bullpup-style shotgun and a .22-calibre rifle.

Guo faces nine counts linked to the production and trafficking of methamphetamine and MDMA.

King faces four counts related to meth trafficking and illegal firearm possession.

RCMP officials said additional substances are undergoing Health Canada testing to determine whether synthetic opioids such as fentanyl were present.

Authorities also seized $8,000 in cash, multiple firearms, laboratory glassware, and chemicals capable of producing further drug batches valued in the millions.

“The complexity and danger of the operation required extensive inter-agency collaboration,” the RCMP said, thanking partners including the Ontario Provincial Police, Niagara Regional Police, York Regional Police, South Simcoe Police, the Ontario Fire Marshal, Health Canada, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Health Canada testing and court proceedings are ongoing.

Courageous Discourse

No Exit Wound – EITHER there was a very public “miracle” OR Charlie Kirk’s murder is not as it appears

Published on October 25, 2025

Todayville

By John Leake

Turning Point Spokesman: “No Exit Wound a Miracle”

Charlie Kirk Show producer Andrew Kolvet repeats extremely dubious claim purportedly made by “the surgeon who operated on Kirk.”

Monday Blaze Media (relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey) reported the following:

Turning Point USA spokesman and executive producer of the “Charlie Kirk Show” Andrew Kolvet revealed new details about the shooting that even doctors are calling a miracle. According to Kolvet, the surgeon who operated on Kirk claimed that the high-velocity bullet was powerful enough to kill multiple large animals — and “should have gone through” his body. But for some reason, Kirk’s body was able to stop it.

“I want to address some of the discussion about the lack of an exit wound with Charlie,” Kolvet wrote in a post on X.

“The fact that there wasn’t an exit wound is probably another miracle, and I want people to know,” Kolvet continued, explaining that he had spoken with the surgeon who worked on Charlie in the hospital.

“He said the bullet ‘absolutely should have gone through, which is very very normal for a high powered, high velocity round. I’ve seen wounds from this caliber many times and they always just go through everything. This would have taken a moose or two down, an elk, etc,’” he recalled.

“But it didn’t go through. Charlie’s body stopped it,” he added.

When he mentioned to the doctor that there were “dozens of staff, students, and special guests standing directly behind Charlie” when he was shot, the doctor reportedly replied, “It was an absolute miracle that someone else didn’t get killed.”

“His bone was so healthy and the density was so so impressive that he’s like the man of steel,” Kolvet recalls the doctor saying.

This is not a credible statement, and it raises a number of concerns.

It strikes me as very perplexing that a “surgeon operated on Kirk,” because in the video of the shooting, Charlie reacted with a decorticate posture—that is, an abnormal body posture characterized by flexion of the upper limbs—caused by severe trauma to the central nervous system. This indicates that the bullet either directly struck his cervical spinal cord, or the shock wave of the supersonic bullet passing near his spinal cord traumatized it.

A 150-grain, .30-06 bullet’s energy at 150 yards from the muzzle varies by ammunition, but a common hunting cartridge has an estimated value of approximately 1,800-2,000 foot-pounds (with the bullet traveling at about 2500 feet per second). In other words, the .30 caliber (.30 inch diameter) metal projectile struck his neck with sufficient kinetic energy to move a 2,000 pound mass a linear distance of one foot.

If the bullet that struck Charlie’s cervical spinal cord was a .30-06 fired from 150 yards away, it would have:

1). Severed his spinal cord, killing him instantly.

2). Passed through his neck.

Note that the cervical vertebrae are supported by strong muscles and have high compressive strength, but are far too delicate to stop a .30-06 bullet traveling at 2,500 feet per second.

If ALL of the kinetic energy of the bullet was absorbed by Charlie’s neck, it would have done spectacular trauma to his neck, as distinct from producing the clean bullet hole visible in the video footage that ruptured his Carotid artery.

Though I appreciate that some may find a supernatural explanation to be consoling, it seems to me that the investigation should not rest on the this explanation.

As I wrote a few weeks ago: If I were investigating the murder, I would consider the hypothesis that Charlie was shot with a weapon equipped with a suppressor and loaded with a subsonic cartridge to further reduce the sound. I have seen footage of someone firing a rifle with this setup, and the shot was amazingly quiet. The effective range of such a weapon is about 100 yards or less, and the shooter must be very skilled.

However, such a setup could fire a subsonic projectile that would penetrate a human neck without passing through it. In this scenario, the actual assassin (firing the suppressed rifle) hypothetically coordinated the timing of his shot with someone else firing a normal (supersonic and loud) rifle cartridge into the air at the same time to create a distraction or red herring.

In a functioning society in which the people trust their authorities—including their medical examiners—it would be easy to discover what happened and to disclose at least a preliminary report that would satisfy most reasonable people. The trouble our Republic is facing now is that so many of us no longer trust our federal and state authorities to tell us the truth.

For example, we have strong grounds for suspecting that medical examiners are not diligently investigating (with the proper analytic methods) unexpected, fatal cardiac arrests in young people to determine if they were caused by vaccine-induced myocarditis.

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