deadmonton 2006 - november crime report
a violent weekend - part one |
two die in separate crashes |
a violent weekend - part two |
a violent weekend - part three |
student assaulted inside school
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A violent weekend - part one
It was the first incident of a violent weekend and the first that put Whyte Avenue in a light not seen since the spring's Stanley Cup melees.
Within 48 hours, seven would be stabbed and two would die in attacks across the city.
At about 2:10 a.m. on November 18th, 2006 two groups of men were arguing on the sidewalk between the Starbucks outlet and Stolli's Bar on the north side of Whyte Avenue east of 104th Street.
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The groups had reportedly been in the bar earlier and exchanged words. One group left the bar and the other group followed them outside where the scuffle broke out.
Two men suffered minor stab wounds to their upper bodies and a third was stabbed seriously enough to be sent to University of Alberta Hospital where he was listed in stable condition.
On November 23rd police issued a Canada-wide warrant for 22-year-old Steven Dean Collins in connection with the November 18th stabbings.
Collins was described as a 22-year-old white male, 5-feet 6-inches, 160 lbs., with brown eyes and black hair with blonde highlights.
He has the initials “SC” tattooed on his upper left arm and a tattoo of a tiger on his left chest.
Police said they were not seeking other suspects and were treating the case as an aggravated assault.
Twenty-four hours later and just a block west of this incident on Whyte Avenue, two separate attacks occurred within moments of each other, one of them ending fatally – see below.
Two die in separate crashes
November 19th, 2006 saw police deal with a pair of spectacular early-morning car crashes that left two men dead.
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At about 2:00 a.m. a man in his early 20s driving a Chevrolet Celebrity westbound went through a red light at 178th Street and 87th Avenue striking a northbound Chevy Tahoe SUV.
The Celebrity rolled a number of times and two occupants were ejected. The car landed on the driver.
The man was taken to University of Alberta Hospital where he died of his injuries. An 18-year-old pregnant female passenger and the SUV's 17-year-old male driver suffered non-life threatening injuries.
“In this case, both alcohol and speed were involved,” a police spokesman said.
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Left and centre pictures looking southbound, right looking northbound the next day.
An hour later a Ford Escort driving northbound in the southbound lanes of Groat Road hit a Ford Crown Victoria taxi head-on under the 102nd Avenue bridge.
The Escort's 41-year-old male driver, who wasn't wearing a seatbelt, was thrown through the windshield and died at the scene. The 35-year-old taxi driver suffered serious injuries, including a broken leg, and was taken to hospital.
Police said speed and possibly alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash and the taxi driver had little chance of avoiding the oncoming car.
“As [the Escort] rounded the corner, he met head-on with a cab going south. You wouldn’t be concerned that something’s going to be going around the corner, but the reaction time [of the cab driver] would be minimal,” a police spokesman said.
Police were trying to determine out how the man ended up driving in the wrong direction as the northbound and southbound lanes of Groat Road are separated by a concrete barrier.
The driver of the Ford Escort was later identified as Clarence Michael Burke of Flowers Cove, Newfoundland.
The two road fatalities were the Edmonton's 24th and 25th of 2006.
A violent weekend - part two
On November 19th, 2006 police were called out at 1:20 a.m. to a disturbance at the La Perle community league hall at 18611 97A Avenue.
Upon arrival they found a 17-year-old Evan James Grykuliak suffering from several fatal stab wounds becoming Edmonton's 34th homicide of 2006 [full details].
Then at around 2 a.m. on November 19th, 2006, police came upon a large crowd outside the Y Afterhours club at 102nd Street and 100th Avenue.
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A crowd surrounding someone, who was lying on the ground after being stabbed several times, wouldn’t move away when police asked them to. Pepper spray was used to disperse the mob.
“You’ve got a large hostile group of people and you’ve got police who were trying to assist,” a spokesman said.
Some people were observed to be further hurting the man on the ground by kicking him.
The 23-year-old male victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Two teens were arrested after a brief chase in the area and a third person was being sought.
A 15-year-old male was charged with assault and two breaches of condition. A 17-year-old male was charged with assault, possession for the purpose of trafficking (ecstacy), and two breaches of condition.
On November 22nd, 2006 the Edmonton Sun featured an interview with the man at the centre of the attack – Roy Jenkins.
The 23-year-old plumber had been out celebrating his birthday with friends downtown when he was approached by a group of teens.
"I couldn't believe these little punks," Jenkins told the Sun.
"A kid got up in my face demanding I hand over my cellphone. When I pushed him away, his buddy came from behind and stabbed me in the lung."
In a photograph published by the Sun, a white bandage covers the entry point of the lung wound.
With blood pouring profusely from his chest, Jenkins fled towards Jasper Avenue.
Behind him he heard someone, "You think you're tough now? How does it feel? I'm going to stab the sh*t out of you."
Suffering a punctured lung, Jenkins collapsed in a parking lot adjacent to the Y Afterhours club.
He said two teens then set upon him, kicking and stabbing him six more times before police arrived.
Hospitalised, Jenkins only learned of the weekend's other stabbings after being discharged.
"I'm so frustrated, the news of all these [teen] stabbings scares the hell out of me," Jenkins said in the interview. "The police don't have control over the situation, but I'm not sure they can."
"I can only imagine how the [Grykuliak and McGillis] families are coping. I feel so sorry for them. This violence has got to end somehow. I've never been so scared in my life.
"People are being stabbed over $150 cellphones, I just can't understand it. These kids didn't even bother to rob me."
Jenkins called on the police and bar owners to discourage groups loitering outside clubs – a downtown problem he felt is linked to the drug trade.
"They push drugs on everyone who walks by, they shove you. They're just looking for a fight."
A violent weekend - part three
Around 2:30 a.m. on November 19th, 2006, Dylan Cole McGillis and two friends had just left a bar on the south side of Whyte and were crossing the avenue near 106th Street to get back to their car.
They were swarmed by a group of up to fifteen males. McGillis was stabbed in the chest and later died becoming Edmonton's 34th homicide of 2006 [full details].
Moments later and a half-block west on 106 Street north of Whyte Avenue, a 29-year-old man was yanked from his truck and stabbed multiple times, at least once in the leg.
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He was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was later released.
Police first said the two attacks were unrelated but later stated they may be looking for the same suspect or suspects in both cases.
In the midst of the weekend's violence Insp. Darren Eastcott said, "All of the incidents appeared to involve a bad mix of knives and alcohol."
For more about the debate over the area's bars, possible solutions to problems on the popular strip and the immediate police response, visit the Last Link Whyte Avenue page.
Student assaulted inside school
Just as students at Ross Sheppard High School were holding a memorial honouring Evan Grykuliak, who was stabbed to death at his 17th birthday party, a potentially deadly situation was diffused at a school across town.
J.H. Picard School at 7055 99 Street was locked down for about 15 minutes over the lunch hour on November 22nd, 2006 when staff and students saw a young man enter the building with a knife.
The youth, believed to be about 17, was with a teenage girl when he went into the school looking for a male Grade 12 student. The teens found the student at his locker.
A spokesman for Edmonton Catholic Schools said at the time, "Given with what's happened with teens and youth in Edmonton, it's an extremely scary incident."
"They had some sort of a confrontation. As soon as that started, the students reacted, the staff reacted, the school went into lockdown."
When the suspect saw he was losing the battle, he pulled a knife but didn't use it. Staff held onto the pair of visitors, but the male escape before police arrived. The student was not injured.
"It's important to note it's not a random incident. These two boys knew each other and apparently had a concern with each other."
The "concern" turned out to be a dispute over the ownership of an iPod, and the suspect was a third party that was asked to settle the matter.
"Unfortunately it's a reflection of, I think, what's going on in society. And I guess how teens want to settle a problem," the spokesman said.
The teens, who do not attend the school, entered through the main doors which are not clearly visible from the main office. Other entry doors are locked and video cameras watch the front doors.
A letter was sent home to parents detailing the incident. Police did not indicate if they had identified a suspect.
The incident turned out to be wrong place/wrong time for one young man.
The school's lockdown brought a heavy police presence to the area. They came across a stolen vehicle unrelated to the school incident.
After a very brief flight from police, the vehicle stopped and the driver ran.
Due to the number of officers in the area, the driver was quickly apprehended.
Between the driver and passenger, 16 warrants were executed, including one for attempted murder.
On November 24th, 2006 the Edmonton Sun reported the suspect wanted for the school assault was one of two teens charged in connection with the stabbing death of Joshua Hunt.
A police source told the Sun that the teen, who cannot be named under provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was charged with assaulting Hunt's alleged killer.
Josh Hunt was stabbed at house party on October 14th, 2006. The incident at Picard was a breach of the teen's bail conditions.
"This is insane," the police source told the Sun. "It's getting out of control."