An autopsy was conducted by the Edmonton Medical Examiner yesterday, Thursday, June 27, 2019, and the autopsy results were inconclusive. As a result, further medical testing will be conducted on the 43-year-old.
Homicide Section continues to investigate.
Police believe the two 22-year-old males played a significant role in multiple incidents across the city, including many in the Old Strathcona area alone, says EPS Whyte Avenue Beats Sgt. Michael Keef.
“We believe these two individuals have caused a lot of damage across the city, and shown disrespect to some of Edmonton’s most historic landmarks, including the Princess Theatre, Block 1912 on Whyte Avenue and the Farmers Market,” says Keef.
Keef added: “The Edmonton Police Service does not take graffiti or incidents of tagging lightly. It may take some time, though eventually police will find those responsible and hold them to account.”
Investigators have arrested and charged Devon Acuna, 22, and Connor Hawkins, 22, with five global counts each of mischief over $5,000. Police continue to investigate the series, and believe other individuals are involved.
The arrests were welcomed news for many small business owners in the historic Old Strathcona area.
“We commend the EPS for their work trying to identify and charge individuals involved in graffiti,” says Cherie Klassen, Executive Director Old Strathcona Business Association.”
“Many of the nearly 700 businesses in our community are independent, small businesses and the cost of removing graffiti has been tremendous this last year. This kind of vandalism and damage not only costs time and money for our businesses, but also creates a negative perception of our community. We support public art and murals in our neighbourhood, but do not tolerate graffiti.”
The impacts of graffiti are significant, and felt far beyond the negative public image left behind for the community, says Don Belanger, program manager with Capital City Clean Up.
"Capital City Clean Up's Professional Cleaning program applications have increased dramatically from 160 in 2018 to 230 already this year. This tells us that more and more people are becoming victims of graffiti vandalism, which makes arrests like these so important. Unfortunately, graffiti vandalism scars our communities and costs everyone,” says Belanger.
Anyone with additional information about these graffiti incidents and/or the other individuals involved are asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.
EPS Partner Contacts:
Cherie Klassen, Executive Director,
Old Strathcona Business Association
Office: 780.437.4182
Don Belanger,
Program Manager, Capital City Clean Up
Office: 780.496.5412
The EPS Homicide Section is treating the death as suspicious. An autopsy was scheduled for this morning (June 27, 2019).
No further information is available at this time.
“We’re seeing a dramatic increase in vaping among teens in junior high and high school, even pre-teens in elementary school are trying out their older siblings’ vapes,” says Const. Joshua Maeda, the EPS School Resource Officer for M.E. LaZerte High School. “It's very disruptive to the school environment, I’ve seen numerous students get caught and suspended for vaping in school, and this year I’ve seized close to 50 vaping devices with vape juice totalling over $1,500.”
While Edmonton schools report anecdotal evidence that student vaping is on the rise, a new study published in the British Medical Journal in June 2019 found a 74 per cent increase in vaping among youth aged 16 to 19 in Canada from 2017 to 2018. Health Canada reports 23 per cent of students in grades 7 to 12 have tried an electronic cigarette.
This alarming adolescent trend has also been observed by University of Alberta Faculty of Nursing students entering the health care field, who feel more can be done to educate teens and their parents of the potential health risks and vulnerability to addiction.
Nancy Barnes, Registered Nurse and Faculty Lecturer with the U of A Faculty of Nursing, highlights these risks, “The main reason teens start to vape is because of the flavoured nicotine, which not only tastes good, but gives them a head rush that feels good. But the effects of nicotine and vaping are toxic to a developing brain and body, so we have to take action before the nicotine addiction kicks in.”
Experts say that electronic cigarette devices deliver higher doses of nicotine than traditional cigarettes, and one vaping pod may contain the same amount of nicotine as a package of cigarettes. The addition of sweet flavouring to vape juice masks nicotine’s naturally unpleasant taste and increases the appeal of vaping over traditional smoking.
Most underage users report purchasing their vaping products illegally from vape shops or convenience stores after seeing vaping advertising at the locations, which contravenes the Alberta Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act. Under the Act, it is illegal to sell to minors, to sell any flavoured product containing nicotine, and to display or advertise any tobacco or nicotine products.
To reduce the prevalence of youth vaping, EPS officers and U of A Faculty of Nursing students are launching an education and enforcement campaign.
This summer, EPS officers will be visiting vape retailers to speak to owners about the problem and check for compliance to regulations. Shops breaching the law will be issued warning letters, and subsequently fined if they do not comply within the given time frame.
Later in the fall, U of A Nursing students will be working with Edmonton schools to educate teens on the health risks and consequences of vaping through a series of presentations and distribution of resource materials.
"Health promotion, and illness and injury prevention, are the foundation of professional nursing practice,” says Nancy Barnes. “As future health care providers, this is a great opportunity for our nursing students to use their expertise and work collaboratively with police on a common problem facing Edmonton’s youth."
Const. Maeda adds, “Kids are vulnerable because of peer pressure and lack of knowledge, but if we get the right information out to the community, we can keep these kids on the right path and avoid future addictions.”
For more information on the risks and consequences of vaping, please visit Health Canada.
Southwest patrol officers responded to a call for assistance to a residence near 85 Avenue and 107 Street last Thursday, June 20, 2019.
Upon arrival, officers discovered what appeared to be an illegal drug processing facility in the detached garage. A large quantity (approximately 1 kg) of butyrylfentanyl and morphine were found inside the garage, along with a grape drink liquid and various drug-processing equipment.
Investigators believe a male suspect had rented the residential detached garage, which he then transformed into a clan lab.
“It’s imperative to do your homework as a landlord. Check out your renter’s references. If you don’t, you may be inadvertently inviting criminals to set up shop on your property,” says Sgt. Guy Pilon, of the EPS Clan Lab Response Team.
Investigators are releasing a photo of a person of interest in connection to this clan lab operation. Anyone who may be able to identify and/or know the whereabouts of this individual is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.
Licence plates are typically overlooked by owners unless it’s time to update your registration, or you need to recall your plate number to register for a parking stall. But this less than constant eye contact has resulted in 1,240 licence plate thefts from January 1 – May 21 this year. Since 2017, a total of 8,236 licence plates have been stolen in Edmonton.
Of the 1,240 plate thefts this year, we have recorded 33 criminal evading police incidents using stolen plates. Nine of those plates were used on stolen vehicles and ten of those stolen plate incidents were such significant risks to public safety that EPS had to take serious actions to stop the suspects before anyone could be harmed.
One of the main reasons that criminals are able to disguise their vehicles with a stolen plate for so long is that owners are unaware their plate is missing. "Most registered owners don’t realize their licence plate has been stolen or even swapped with another one until they are contacted by police," said Constable Brendan Power of EPS’ Specialized Traffic Apprehension Team (STAT). "It’s not just making sure you have a licence plate, it’s making sure it’s yours. We see many instances where thieves swap one stolen plate for another and the owners don’t notice until it’s too late."
Don’t underestimate the cost of a stolen plate.
Licence plates are used by thieves to conduct criminal activity under the disguise of someone else. Not only can this be difficult for you, the registered owner of the plate, but the criminal activities conducted under your identity include dangerous driving, thefts, hit-and-run collisions, frauds, and break and enter incidents. These activities end up putting all of us at risk.
"On an almost daily basis, occasionally several times in one day, the operators of these disguised vehicles are fleeing from police in a manner that causes significant risks to the public. The Edmonton Police have procedures in place to try and mitigate the risk to the public in these events, but we are only as prepared as the knowledge we have," Constable Power explained. "If we know that a plate has been reported as stolen, we can utilize different tactics to apprehend the people involved in a manner that is safer for the public, the police and the suspects."
Here are three recent examples of stolen plates resulting in dangerous driving situations:
In April 2019, officers recognized a vehicle from a previous incident with police. The licence plate on this vehicle was registered to a different vehicle, but the plate was not reported stolen to police. The vehicle was caught travelling through Edmonton streets at speeds near 140km/h. The vehicle then travelled on Anthony Henday Drive, in Strathcona County, and on the QE2 at speeds of approximately 200km/h causing significant risk to the public.
In May 2019, officers observed a parked, but occupied, stolen vehicle displaying an unreported stolen licence plate. Police determined that in the 12 days that the vehicle had been stolen, four different plate swaps had occurred with similar vehicles. Only one of the four plates was reported stolen, and the remainder of the owners were unaware that their plates had been swapped until they were contacted by members. This was a significant drain on resources to identify each owner, which could have been avoided if the swapped plates were noticed and reported to police.
And finally, in June, an officer attempted to stop a vehicle with an unreported stolen licence plate that was leaving a known problem address; however, the vehicle fled at high speeds, causing risk to the public. The officer confirmed that the plate was in fact stolen from a complainant whose licence plate had been swapped with another that was cancelled nearly a year ago. Even that owner didn’t know their cancelled plate was stolen. This incident is a reminder to return your cancelled plate to a registry or ensure you make eye contact with it every day.
Prevention
We hope that citizens can start a routine of walking behind your vehicle so you can read your plate every time you go to your vehicle.
There are also ways to make it more difficult for someone to take your licence plate. You can go to a nut and bolt or hardware store and purchase screws to fit your vehicle’s make and model. Some retail stores also sell license plate lock kits.
Reporting
When officers know a licence plate on a vehicle is stolen, we can make tailored decisions on how to take the suspect into custody, which can also reduce the risk to public safety. This is why we want drivers to report a stolen licence plate to police.
If your plate has been stolen, contact police immediately at 780-423-4567 or come into a police station.
Note: If you only report a stolen plate to a registries office, police are not notified.
For more information, visit edmontonpolice.ca/stolenplates.
The Edmonton Police Service is investigating a hit-and-run collision that occurred overnight in northeast Edmonton, sending a teen male to hospital with serious injuries.
At approximately 3:30 a.m. this morning, Monday, June 24, 2019, Northeast Division patrol members responded to a collision call in a school field near 30 Street and 151 Avenue.
It was reported to police that a group of five teenagers were being chased by a suspect vehicle in the field, when a male complainant was struck by the vehicle. The suspect vehicle subsequently fled the area prior to police arriving on scene.
Paramedics treated and transported the teen male complainant to hospital with serious injuries.
The investigation remains in its preliminary stages, and motive for the incident has yet to be established.
Police are searching for an older model red vehicle, which witnesses say was being driven by an indigenous, adult male with tattoos on his face.
Anyone with information about this incident, including the whereabouts of the male suspect and/or the suspect vehicle, is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com/250.
