St. Paul and Saddle Lake RCMP had a busy week, answering 187 calls to service in the week of Aug. 3 to 10, including a suspicious death, an aggravated assault/suicide, domestic assault, and youths firing bear spray at passers-by, according to a St. Paul RCMP press release.
A deceased man was found by his friend at a rural property west of St. Brides on Aug. 6. The man had become concerned for his friend’s well-being after not hearing from him for a few days, and gone looking for him. The friend found the deceased in a Quonset hut, according to a news release. RCMP and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were dispatched to the scene, and because of the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the deceased and the setting in which he was found, Major Crimes investigators from K Division headquarters, along with the St. Paul Forensics Unit, were brought in to investigate. However, the Edmonton Medical Examiner has determined the death to be non-criminal, but the exact cause of death will not be known until the final Medical Examiner’s report is complete.
The deceased's name is not being released at this time.
Aggravated assault/suicide
On the evening of Aug. 7, St. Paul RCMP responded to a scene where shots were reportedly fired inside a St. Paul residence. RCMP and EMS found a severely injured woman standing outside, suffering from wounds to her upper body, consistent with being struck by a blunt object, according to a press release. She was treated by EMS and transported to hospital.
When police entered the residence, they found a man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Police spoke with a number of witness inside the residence who reported that the deceased man had assaulted the woman before taking his own life.
Names are being withheld at this time.
Domestic assault in Goodfish Lake
RCMP and Vilna EMS were dispatched to Goodfish Lake at about 4 p.m. on Aug. 9, after receiving several 911 calls from a woman asking for an ambulance, where the line kept disconnecting. Police attended the residence and found a woman suffering from wounds that appeared to be from an assault. Police discovered the woman was on an outstanding warrant and they attempted to put her under arrest. At this, two male occupants in the house became “aggressive and belligerent,” according to the release, and they allegedly tried to physically restrain members from arresting the female, with one allegedly grabbing hold of one of the officers. Police were able to gain control of the two males, and charges are now pending against them.
Bear spray incident
Saddle Lake RCMP were dispatched to a complaint on Aug. 7 of a group of youths firing slingshots at vehicles and deploying pepper spray. The person complaining had seen the activity and been “contaminated by the pepper spray,” according to an RCMP press release. Police patrolled the Saddle Lake town site and found a group of youths matching the description of the suspects. These youths were found to be in possession of bear spray; two 13-year-old boys were arrested and charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. According to the release, during their arrest, the two youths discussed their involvement in a local street gang which led them to this behavior.
