It’s been just over a year since David Prymych came face-to-face with a terrifying experience that left him bleeding on the side of the highway. And in December, two men were sentenced for their part in the violent robbery.
Prymych was the sole owner and operator of a taxicab company operating in St. Paul, Taxt Taxi. On Jan. 20, 2017, Prymych received a call from a gas bar in St. Paul, asking to pick up a fare.
He accepted the fare, which were two men who wanted to get to Kehewin Cree Nation. Prymych was familiar with the drop-off location the men requested, and began driving.
About 40 km into the ride, the men changed their drop-off location, recalls Prymych, in a written version of what he remembers from the night. The new location was a boat launch – deserted because it was 8 p.m. in the middle of winter.
Prymych decided not to pull into the boat launch, but decided to stay on the highway. As he passed the turnoff, Prymych says he saw a knife with an 18-inch blade come toward him.
While one man started stabbing Prymych, the other had his hands around Prymych’s neck, chocking him, recalls Prymych.
“I was able to see the blade coming at me and I kept deflecting the knife away,” he explains, adding, “I was able to deflect all, but one entered my leg.”
When he put the vehicle in park, one of the men took the keys, and the other let go of Prymych’s neck. Prymych was able to get out of the vehicle, pushing a door closed on one of the attackers.
The men gave up chasing Prymych and took the cab, leaving him bleeding on the side of the highway. A number of vehicles passed Prymych before someone stopped to help.
“I had flagged down a car, which then took me to the Elk Point hospital where they stopped the bleeding.”
Following the traumatic event, Prymych immediately closed down his business. His son, Kelley Prymych, now operates a towing business in town – Iron Fist Towing.
In July, Kelley posted a message on social media, explaining the events that brought him to start the towing company.
“After a long 24-day stretch of working away from home, which is St. Paul, I returned home to what I thought would have been a relaxing evening away from the stresses of the world,” recalled Kelley. Shortly after arriving home, he received a call from his father to make sure he had returned safely.
“He mentioned he had one ride out of town, and then he would return home and visit. About 35 minutes later I receive a call from a random number, and it was my father informing me that there had been an incident in the cab and he was on the way to the hospital,” wrote Kelley in the post.
He rushed to Elk Point where he learned that his father had been stabbed.
“While my mind was racing, I was furious,” wrote Kelley. “Had one thing went differently, my father may not have been here today. At that point he decided to close the doors of Taxt Taxi.”
According to an RCMP media release dated Jan. 24, 2017, RCMP members from Cold Lake, Elk Point, St. Paul, and Police Dog Services (PDS) assisted Bonnyville RCMP in patrolling the area, with the stolen vehicle found abandoned in a field.
RCMP executed a search warrant at two separate residences on Kehewin Cree Nation and arrested both suspects from the armed robbery and carjacking, according to the media release.
The two men were both charged with a number of offenses. On Dec. 11, 2017, Jayden John was sentenced for robbery. He was given 60 months less four months for pre-trial custody, leaving 56 months left to serve. He also has a 10-year firearm prohibition.
Later in December, Stacey Moosepayo was sentenced to 60 months less 17 months pre-trial custody, leaving 43 months to serve. He was also given a 10-year firearm prohibition.
