RCMP
Red Deer RCMP arrest two individuals following ramming of police vehicle
![](https://www.todayville.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/tvrd-rcmp-vehicle-rammed-image-2024-04-30.jpg)
News release from Red Deer RCMP
On April 26, 2024, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Red Deer RCMP received a report of a suspicious vehicle located in a parking lot on the north side of Red Deer. When members arrived, a traffic stop was attempted, but the suspect then rammed the officers police vehicle fifteen times. Following this, the two suspects attempted to flee on foot, but were quickly arrested.
Tia Kikoak (27), a resident of Red Deer, has been charged with fifteen offences including:
- Assault on police officer with a weapon
- Resist arrest
- Dangerous operation
- Possession of stolen property
- Unauthorized possession of firearm
- Possession of firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized
- Careless use of firearm
- Operation while impaired
- Fail to comply with release order x2
Jared Mcleod (30), a resident of Red Deer, has been charged with the following offences:
- Unauthorized possession of firearm
- Possession of firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized
- Careless use of firearm
- Possession of firearm contrary to prohibition order
- Possession for purpose of trafficking
- Resist arrest
- Possession of identity documents
- Common nuisance
Following a Judicial Interim Release Hearing, Kikoak and Mcleod were remanded into custody. They are scheduled to appear in Alberta Court of Justice in Red Deer on May 1st, 2024.
If you have information regarding this incident please contact Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.
Alberta
‘Coutts Two’ Verdict: Bail and Mischief
![](https://www.todayville.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/tvrd-fcpp-coutts-protest-feb-2022-image-2024-09-02.jpg)
Protesters demonstrating against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway at the Canada-U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta., on Feb. 2, 2022. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh
From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
By Ray McGinnis
Imagine spending over two years behind bars, only to be told the evidence never supported the charges against you.
On Aug. 2, a Lethbridge jury found Chris Carbert and Tony Olienick not guilty of the most serious charge of conspiracy to commit murder of police officers. However, though they were declared innocent, the conspiracy charge was the basis for their being held in remand for at least 925 days. They were denied bail based on this charge.
The sentencing hearing for other charges against Carbert and Olienick is taking place this week.
Granting Bail Typical for Serious Offences
In Canada, when someone is charged with committing a crime, they’re released on bail. This includes those charged with murder. For example, in September 2021, 31-year-old Umar Zameer was released on bail after being charged with the first-degree murder of Toronto Police Constable Jeffrey Northrup.
A case of double murder in the city of Mission in B.C.’s Fraser Valley concerned the deaths of Lisa Dudley and her boyfriend Guthrie McKay. Tom Holden, accused of first-degree murder in the case, was released on bail.
Conditions for not Granting Bail
Why do we release people from custody after being charged with a crime? Why don’t we hold people indefinitely? It’s been a Canadian tradition that there’s a process in place to which we adhere. Does the person charged with a crime seem to present a risk of repeating an offence? Carbert and Olienick hadn’t previously committed the offence(s) they were charged with. They didn’t have any criminal records for any violence. So, the likelihood of repetition of offence didn’t apply.
Another reason for denying bail is flight risk. But the Crown agreed neither of these men posed a flight risk. If you’re not clear about the identity of the person you’ve arrested, you can hold them in custody. But the Crown and the RCMP were certain of the identity of these men.
How about denying bail for evidence protection? If let go, was it possible the Crown or RCMP would lose evidence, and they needed to keep Carbert and Olienick in remand? No.
Were Carbert or Olienick considered a danger to the public? No. They had no past history of committing violent crimes, so in the case of the Coutts Two this was not a reason to deny bail.
The Crown insisted the pair be denied bail because their release would undermine confidence in the judicial system. Due to the seriousness of the offences the pair were charged with, releasing them would put the legal system into disrepute. But this is a circular argument. In authoritarian countries, police may arrest citizens on serious charges they’re not guilty of and leave them in prison indefinitely.
Granting Bail Goes Back to Magna Carta
Since the Magna Carta was signed in 1215, western judicial institutions have allowed those charged with a crime to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. With that provision comes the right to bail and a speedy trial. When citizens are accused of a crime and left to rot in prison without having their day in court, their spirits can be broken and persuaded to agree to plead guilty even when they are innocent.
Unindicted Co-conspirators Never Interviewed
During the trial, the Crown repeatedly named a list of unindicted co-conspirators. Each had a licence to carry a weapon in public for years. None of them were ever searched. None of them were ever interviewed. None of the alleged co-conspirators received any communication from the RCMP, or other authorities, about their possible connection to a conspiracy to murder police officers. However, the list of names provided for some legal theatre in the court added to the ominous scale of the supposed conspiracy to murder police officers.
Intelligence
Former career police officer Vincent Gircys had standing in the Justice Mosley decision. The judge ruled in January 2024 that the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act in February 2022 to end the convoy protests was unconstitutional.
After the Coutts Two verdict, Gircys was concerned about the intelligence. There was a disconnect between the conspiracy charge and the evidence the Crown brought to trial. Gircys stated, “It’s really important to find where that disconnect is. Because of faulty intelligence? False intelligence? Fabricated intelligence? The evidence that they (RCMP) do have would all be logged, gathered, and time-lined. And that goes to what evidence was not gathered? … How could that information have been laid in the first place? How could the Crown have proceeded with this case to begin with?”
The Coutts Two were found not guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. But by the time they are sentenced on the other charges this week, they will have spent at least 925 days in custody. What does this mean for innocent until proven guilty?
Ray McGinnis is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. His forthcoming book is “Unjustified: The Emergencies Act and the Inquiry that Got It Wrong.”
Alberta
BMX Bandit: Sylvan Lake bank robber suspect escapes on bike
![](https://www.todayville.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/tvrd-sylvan-lake-robbery-suspect-bmx-getaway-image-2024-09-05.jpg)
News release from Alberta RCMP
Sylvan Lake RCMP respond to a report of an armed robbery at Sylvan Lake CIBC
On Sept. 4, 2024, at approximately 2:45 p.m., Sylvan Lake RCMP received a report of an armed robbery attempt at the Sylvan Lake CIBC situated at 5007 50 Street in Sylvan Lake Alta. Witnesses reported seeing a lone male dressed in reflective safety clothing enter the bank armed with a crow bar. The male is described as:
- Standing approximately 6 feet tall;
- Ridding a BMX style bike;
- Wearing a mask, dark sunglasses, high visibility construction type clothing.
Once in the bank, the suspect demanded the clerks to surrender over any available monies. The male fled the bank on foot, last seen riding away on a mountain bike. Fortunately no one was physically injured during this incident.
Members of the Sylvan Lake RCMP Detachment quickly responded to the area and conducted extensive patrols. The investigation is ongoing at this time. If you have any information about this crime or those responsible, please call the Sylvan Lake RCMP at 403-887-3333. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3TIPS.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report a crime online, or for the access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.
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