last link on the left › deadmonton

Generic crime photo

--- miscellaneous memos from the crime desk ---
problems persist on the Avenue of Nations | the Percy Davis police shooting | body found in ditch near Leduc | there's a reason why they call it dope | CTV Edmonton reports neighbourhood 'too quiet' | off-duty police officer mugged | man dies at the Wild West | man pretends to shoot at police | another body found in Strathcona County

--- be on the lookout for ---
wanted: James Michael Monias
--- other be on the lookout for pages ---

<< july 2008 | other police matters main page | september 2008 >>

Problems persist on the Avenue of Nations

In the wake of the fatal shooting of Andrew Livingstone O'Brien on August 5th, 2008, media attention focused on Edmonton's 107th Avenue's reputation of violence.

With real estate development in the city's urban core tearing down many downtown haunts, inner city residents have been forced into moving to surrounding areas. The Avenue of Nations area has long been a community that has welcomed newcomers ... but now the community is home for a different type of transient population, bringing with it the baggage of petty crime, drugs, prostitution, serious assaults and over a dozen murders during the past several years » full details »

back to index

The Percy Davis police shooting

At about 9:19 a.m. August 8th, 2008 a man waving a knife outside Abbottsfield Mall was shot by Edmonton police. Witnesses told media the man refused to drop the knife when ordered to do so by an officer. After a brief standoff, the officer shot the man twice.

The shooting of Percy Davis was the first investigation to be handled by Alberta's newly-formed Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT). With police unable to comment on the matter, Davis' family and witnesses raised questions about the shooting » full details »

back to index

Body found in ditch near Leduc

Leduc RCMP have completed their investigation into the suspicious death of a woman whose body was found along the Queen Elizabeth II Highway.

At approximately 5:09 p.m. August 13th, 2008 Leduc RCMP received a 911 call that a body had been found in a water-filled culvert on the south side of Hwy 19 just east of the QEII highway, south of Edmonton.

A female motorist made the discovery while walking to a nearby gas station after her car had broken down.

Store clerk Kristie Reed said the woman was visibly upset when she came in to the Petro-Canada gas bar and headed straight for the washroom.

"The first thing that came to my mind was, 'Oh my God she's been in an accident, I hope she's OK,' " Reed said.

"Next thing I know, she said, 'I think I found a dead body.' "She was totally hysterical, of course."

"The location of the body, the circumstances ... police just want to rule it out," Cpl. Neill Pearson told media, explaining why police were treating as just a suspicious death.

Officers taped off a wide grassy area near the QEII exit into Nisku. The scene was documented and a canine unit was brought in.

It appeared the body had been there for quite some time and that extensive decomposition had taken place. Police were unable to determine the body's gender upon initial examination.

Pearson said the body was found floating in the culvert and was not visible to passing traffic.

"We have our forensic i-dent unit out from Edmonton, we have our general investigation section from Leduc and detachment members," Pearson added.

"We have secured the scene and we're investigating it. We're waiting to talk to the medical examiner's office to get permission to move the body and we'll do further examinations with the medical examiner."

The body was taken to the medical examiner's office in Edmonton at about 9:00 p.m.

The woman who found the body was put in touch with members of the Victim Services unit. "She was shaken up, obviously," Pearson said.

The next day Leduc RCMP confirmed that the body found was that of a female.

The woman, who was fully clothed, had been found in three feet of water, Const. Jodi Heidinger said.

"A female motorist had broken down on the QEII highway, and in her attempts to cross the ditch to get to a nearby gas station, she located the body in the south ditch of Highway 19," Heidinger related.

Also confirmed was that Project KARE had been notified of the death, established protocol in cases of suspicious deaths.

Word of the find along the highway soon reached those who work closely with the city's prostitutes.

Carol Lynn Strachan, a sex-trade worker advocate, told the Edmonton Sun her phone was ringing off the hook.

"The girls all want to find out who this person was," Strachan said. "They want to know who's missing and wanted to make sure that everyone is accounted for."

JoAnn McCartney, a former vice cop who now counsels sex trade workers as a member of Prostitution Awareness and Action Foundation of Edmonton (PAAFE), said whenever a woman's remains are found, more prostitutes are seen on the streets seeking drugs.

"When they hear something like this, their answer is to get high and don't think. It's their way of escaping from fear."

Fears were soon put to rest after completion of an autopsy, which allowed police to identify the woman found.

The Medical Examiner advised that although effort to determine the actual cause of death was inconclusive, nothing suspicious contributed to the woman's death.

The female’s identity would not be released until notification of next of kin. Police did say the woman was 45 years of age and was believed to be originally from Hobbema. She did not have a current fixed address.

It had yet to be determined how long the woman’s body was in the ditch. She was last spoken to on July 23rd, 2008 and was reported missing on July 29th, 2008.

Police did not find any evidence of criminal wrongdoing and have closed their investigation.

back to index

There's a reason why they call it dope

A couple of gang-unit officers scoping out a west-end parking lot couldn't believe their eyes when a pot-filled baggie passed between two cars right under their noses.

The deal went down about 10:30 p.m. August 14, 2008 in a lot near 199th Street and 62nd Avenue. The officers were there on an unrelated matter when two cars pulled in.

The occupants of the cars must have thought they were invisible or they didn't notice the shrinking figures inside the unmarked car.

As the officers watched the exchange take place they called for back up. One car was pulled over as it left the lot, while the other car led police on a brief chase. A search of that vehicle yielded a pound of weed.

At the end of the day, two guys named Vincent faced various charges: Vincent Liang, 34, was charged with trafficking in a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking; Vincent Grant, 20, was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking and criminal flight.

back to index

CTV Edmonton reports neighbourhood 'too quiet'

On August 9th, 2008 a 68-year-old woman was raped in her home in the Aspen Gardens neighbourhood. Police figure the same man was responsible for three sexual assaults in the Garneau area in February and May.

A well-attended August 14th meeting of area residents came up with a plan to make their community safer. CTV Edmonton's website editor may have mis-heard the name of the campaign when creating the station's online report.

The headline was later corrected.

Police are looking for a man described as about 5-feet 9-inches tall with a stocky build, wearing dark clothing and a disguise over his face.

back to index

Off-duty police officer mugged

They say you should always pay attention to your surroundings and to those around you. That lesson hit home for one Edmonton Police Service officer as he was mugged while making his way back to his car after a shift.

It was about 11:00 p.m. August 15th, 2008 when the unnamed and plain-clothed officer was cutting behind the York Hotel along 104th Avenue between 96th and 95th Streets. Two figures stepped out from the shadows.

One of them, a woman, attacked the officer. While he was defending himself, he was attacked by a second person, a man.

During the scuffle, an unknown third person came by and scooped the officer's duffel bag. Inside was his badge, security card, police I.D., personal I.D., cash, credit cards and other personal belongings.

The officer was able to attract the attention of other police members who were outside headquarters – less than a block away.

As a result, Beverly Lorenzen, 40, was arrested and charged with assaulting a peace officer, and Aaron Dwayne Brown, 21 was charged with assaulting a peace officer and obstructing a peace officer.

A knife was also found at the scene.

Police were able to recover the member's duffel bag with the officer's clothes and badge inside. Anyone who found the rest of the belongings was asked to call police at 780-423-4567 or to return them to headquarters.

"That's horrible," Coun. Amarjeet Sohi, Edmonton city council's representative on the Edmonton Police Commission told the Edmonton Sun.

"I am deeply concerned whenever there's a violent incident involving anyone, especially if it's a police officer. It's quite disturbing. It's not even late. I hope this is one of those rare incidents," Sohi said.

back to index

Man dies at the Wild West

A momentary lapse of reason was likely behind a man's death at a west-end shooting range.

At about 4:30 p.m. August 17th, 2008 police say a man crossed under a barrier and into the "target side" of the Wild West Shooting Centre at West Edmonton Mall.

Witnesses reported hearing two shots, then saw a man believed to be in his late 40s or early 50s fall to the ground. It wasn't immediately clear if the man died of self-inflicted gunshots or bullets fired from the gallery.

Over a dozen police officers arrived fully expecting to be dealing with a homicide but they quickly concluded the matter was non-criminal and that the firing range didn't appear to have done anything wrong.

"At this point we don't believe there are any safety concerns in relation to this. They did the best they could at this point. We're continuing to look at that angle of it," acting Insp. Darcy Strang said.

The official cause of death was to be determined by the medical examiner.

An eyewitness by the name of Lex Lawless said he heard rangers yelling "Ceasefire!" a couple of times. Some shooters stopped firing while others continued, he said.

"I ducked down. Everyone waiting on the bench ducked down," Lawless recalled. "It was my first instinct ... in case someone turned around and started firing at us."

Two more shots rang out and about 10 seconds later he saw the man lying on the gallery floor, bleeding.

Lawless said he earlier saw the red-shirted heavyset man sitting beside his friend, waiting for his turn to shoot.

The Wild West Shooting Centre is no stranger to this sort of event.

On July 6th, 2007 a man suffered a jaw injury when a bullet struck him in the face. Wild West Shooting Centre owner Ken Kupsch said the shooting was "definitely self-inflicted."

Three weeks later, on July 30th, a man shot himself and was pronounced dead at the scene.

At the time, Kupsch defended his gun range's safety and security record, saying it screened those wanting to use the facility.

"We interview people before we check them in to determine if they're fit to come and shoot," he said, adding people who appear to be suffering from anxiety or have been drinking are not admitted.

"We just tell them politely that we can't let them shoot. Our people are trained, they're ready, they're prepared for it, but you can't stop everybody.

"We're a very established business. We're one of the most used ranges in the world and our safety record is the best there is," Kupsch said, noting that about 300,000 people had safely used the range since it opened seven years earlier.

Kupsch couldn't be reached by media for comment on this latest incident.

About a dozen people were inside the range at the time of the shooting. Victim Services was brought in to talk to them and Occupational Health and Safety took over the investigation.

back to index

Man pretends to shoot at police

You gotta wonder what some people are thinking ...

At about 2:30 a.m. August 19th, 2008 two officers in a marked car were stopped at a red light at Jasper Avenue and 95th Street. They watched a man step off the curb and walk to the front of their car.

There the man made several gestures at the officers, suggesting that he had a gun and was shooting them. He began yelling and screaming, then punched and kicked the front of the patrol car.

Curious, the officers got out of their car but the man bolted, got into a nearby car and drove away.

A short chase took place down Rowland Drive which came to an end on the south side near 106th Avenue and 84th Street. There the pursued vehicle executed a reverse J-turn straight out of The Rockford Files.

Now facing the officers, the car accelerated as if he was going to ram the police vehicle, stopping just a few feet short.

Again the officers got out of their car and tried to place the man under arrest. While being handcuffed, the suspect again began yelling and screaming. A female officer was punched several times in the head.

A passerby aided in restraining the suspect, and with back up on hand the suspect was finally brought under control.

Julio Garcia, 27, was charged with mischief under $5,000, criminal flight, assault with intent to resist arrest and assaulting a police officer. Investigators believed the incident was "drug-related."

Peter Ratcliff, president of the Edmonton Police Association, believed the incident was another indication of the changing public attitude toward law enforcement officers.

"It's not like we're firefighters: we show up and everybody's happy to see us put out their fire," Ratcliff told Global Edmonton. "We usually encounter people who don't like us."

Ratcliff reflected on the animosity shown his members.

"We certainly hear about it a little bit more ... there's no question about that," he said.

Ratcliff was asked what it would take to change public attitudes.

"We're only part of that solution and some of the other things that need to be considered are what the Crown prosecutors – and what the public are going to say about that – and how the sentencing of people who think that it's open season on police officers are handled."

Just days before, on August 16th, 2008 an off-duty member was jumped behind the York Hotel – a mere block away from police headquarters. During the scuffle, the officer's duffel bag was stolen, containing his badge, security card and police I.D. Two people were charged – see off-duty police officer mugged.

On August 8th, 2008 an officer was challenged by a man waving a foot-long butcher knife at Abbottsfield Mall. After a brief stand-off, the officer shot the man – see The Percy Davis Police Shooting.

An attack on two officers called to quell a disturbance outside the Oil City Roadhouse Bar and Vinyl Retro Dance Lounge venues at 107th Street and Jasper Avenue on May 10th, 2008 prompted Chief Mike Boyd to draw a line in the sand.

"This city is not tolerating this kind of mugging and swarming mentality against our police officers and any citizen in this city," Boyd said while holding up the jacket of one of the officers assaulted – see Boyd buzzing mad over officer swarming.

It remains to be seen what comes out of this latest challenge to police safety.

back to index

Another body found in Strathcona County

Strathcona County RCMP continue to investigate the discovery of human remains found in a farmer's field northeast of Sherwood Park and south of Fort Saskatchewan.

On August 25th, 2008 police received a call from a local resident who was out swathing when he come across what he believed were human bones on a property near Township Road 542 and Range Road 225.

On November 7th RCMP announced the remains found were that of Alexander Xavier Smith, a missing 14-year-old Edmonton boy » full details »

back to index

POLICE LINE: DO NOT CROSS

Wanted: James Michael Monias

Edmonton police have issued an arrest warrant for 52-year-old James Michael Monias, a long-term offender once convicted for the sexual assault of a minor, after he failed to return to a half-way house. All told, Monias has nearly 70 convictions spanning 35 years.

Monias' recent criminal career includes being charged with house-breaking, aggravated assault, assault, kidnapping, possession of a weapon and assault with a weapon in connection with a December 13th, 2002 incident when he held his former wife prisoner and stabbed her mother in the chest.

The man was also tried for assault causing bodily harm and the sexual assault of a minor in a matter that took place on January 31st, 2004.

Monias was convicted after an attack involving a nine-year-old girl and her seven-year-old brother. He had returned to an apartment suite, after having been there earlier in the day drinking, and wanted to speak with the children's mother.

However, she had passed out drunk in her bedroom so Monias turned his attention to the siblings as they were watching a movie.

He grabbed them, took them to their bedroom and choked them, leaving bruises on their necks. He tried to kiss the girl, then took the boy into the living room and shoved part of a blanket into his mouth.

The girl crawled out her bedroom window to seek help. Without shoes on, she received frostbite blisters on her feet from running through the snow.

Monias earned the sexual assault conviction for trying to kiss the girl. He represented himself in court until he heard the Crown was seeking long-term offender status.

He was sentenced to four years but was given three years' credit for time spent in pretrial custody, leaving him with less than a year to serve.

In January 2007 Monias was tagged with a long-term offender designation, and was to be under supervision for the maximum 10-year period that the status allows for. He was also placed on the sex offender registry for 20 years and had to surrender a DNA sample.

Monias also has a history of alcohol and drug abuse and was once institutionalised for behaviour problems. Although details are obscure, he received a $500,000 settlement from the province regarding his treatment.

In September 2007 police warned that Monias was coming to Edmonton to live after his last prison stint had ended. Police said at the time they considered him to be an untreated sex offender.

Monias failed to return to his half-way house on August 1st, 2008.

He was described as Metis, 5-feet 8-inches, 170 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes. Tattoos include "Heart" & "Love" on his right hand, and on his neck a feather and a bear claw.

A larger image of James Michael Monias can be seen here.

"It's a major concern that he failed to report to the halfway house and that he's out in the community for the time being on his own. It is a big concern," a police spokesman said, adding if anyone spots Monias to not approach him but to call police instead.

Those with information about James Michael Monias were asked to contact police at the phone numbers, web sites and message services listed below on this page.

back to index

Those with information about any of the matters covered above were asked to contact Edmonton police at 780-423-4567, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), Project KARE at 780-495-KARE (5273) or 1-877-412-KARE (5273) or online at www.tipsubmit.com

Tips can also be text messaged. In Edmonton, text TIP250 + message and send to CRIMES (274637). In Northern Alberta, text TIP205 + message and send to CRIMES (274637).

Information presented on this page has been compiled from published media reports and should not be interpreted as having legal bearing or other prejudice against the individuals named on this web site. Some information may have been released under the authority of the FOIP Act, RSA 2000, C. F-25. and/or Section 8(2)(m) of the Federal Privacy Act.

Members of the public are advised that the intent of this web site is to enable citizens to take suitable precautionary measures and is NOT intended to encourage people to engage in any form of vigilante action. Continued investigation and review can result in additional information or clarification not disclosed to the public. Case status subject to change without notice.

--- other be on the lookout for pages ---
assist to identify | be aware of | missing | wanted

deadmonton 2008 - august crime report