Local briefs - March 10

Drug charges stayed in prison incident

Charges have been stayed against a woman charged with drug trafficking after a Valentine’s Day visit to Bowden Institution last year.

Krystal Dunn, then 29, of Calgary faced four charges of possession of a narcotic for the purposes of trafficking after being apprehended as she tried to enter the prison with another woman visitor.

Federal Crown prosecutor Dave Inglis said on Tuesday that a stay had been entered on the charges.

Reasons are never given for stayed charges.

A stayed charge is held in limbo for a specified time or indefinitely.

Another woman intercepted at the same time by Bowden Institution officers pleaded guilty to possession of a narcotic for the purposes of trafficking last September.

Robyn-Leigh Wieler, then 19, of Okotoks was sentenced to 90 days in jail and given 12 months probation.

A police dog sniffed out marijuana worth about $40,000 that Wieler had hidden on her body.

Suspected robber appears in court

A Lacombe man charged in a February robbery spree made a brief court appearance on Tuesday.

Dax Neil Peters, 36, is expected to return to Red Deer provincial court on March 19 on five robbery using threats charges and single counts of resisting arrest and giving a police officer a false name.

Three of the robberies happened in the space of two hours on Feb. 26. The downtown Real Canadian Superstore, Pizza Hut at 3410 Gaetz Ave. and Ross Street IDA Pharmacy at 4814 Ross St. were hit in succession.

The same suspect is also believed to have been involved in a Feb. 24 robbery at a Shoppers Drug Mart and another robbery the following day at the downtown Canada Safeway.

In all five robberies, the suspect claimed to have a gun.

Peters remains in custody.

Ford F-350 pickup driver exposed himself

Police are attempting to track down a motorist who exposed his private parts to a pair of pedestrians in Riverside Meadows on Monday afternoon.

Two young women were walking in the area of 59th Street and 54th Avenue at about 1:45 p.m. when a man driving a pickup passed them several times, Const. Sabrina Grunow, media liaison officer with Red Deer City RCMP, said on Tuesday.

The man eventually drove into a parking lot south of the Fas Gas station, opened the door of his pickup truck and exposed himself to the two women.

He was last seen driving south toward Taylor Drive.

The women described the man as a Caucasian male in his late 30s to mid 40s, with light-coloured hair, possibly balding. He was of slim build, clean shaven and wearing a black leather jacket, white shirt, blue jeans and black shoes.

He was driving a newer Ford F-350, King Ranch model diesel pickup truck, burgundy or maroon in colour.

Grunow said police have not so far established whether there is a connection between Monday’s incident and a similar occurrence in Lacombe last week.

The suspect in the Lacombe incident was described as a Caucasian male, about 40 years old, with shoulder-length strawberry blond hair and driving a black pickup truck.

Anyone with information that may help the investigation is asked to call the Red Deer City RCMP, 403-343-5575. To remain anonymous, visit www.tipsubmit.com or call Crime Stoppers, 1-800-222-8477.

Reservists scheduled to work on bridge

The public are invited to watch Canadian Army reservist engineers in action on a new pedestrian bridge over the Blindman River.

Reservists will be installing handrails and decking on the bridge skeleton already in place just south of Blackfalds. The bridge is being built as part of a regional trail system linking communities throughout Central Alberta.

People who want to watch the work are invited to come by on Saturday and again on March 20 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Lacombe County and the federal government each donated $50,000 towards the bridge project.

Also, Alberta Trail Net contributed $100,000, Trans Canada Trail $67,000 and the National Trails Coalition $50,000.

The reservists will donate about $50,000 worth of their time and expertise. They will be coming from the Edmonton-based 25th and Calgary-based 33rd Engineer Squadrons of the 41st Combat Engineer Regiment, which is also based in Edmonton.

A $225,000 funding request will also be going before county council to complete about a two-km trail from the Blindman River to Blackfalds.

The bridge will be built on the C&E Trail and form part of the Trans Canada Trail system.

Bylaw officers to hand out greater variety of tickets

Red Deer bylaw officers have a new tool to deal with people who build their fences too high or commit other infractions of the city’s land use bylaw.

On Monday, city council amended the bylaw to create voluntary tickets for violations in those areas of the land use bylaw that do not include a schedule of penalties.

Previously, anyone violating those sections of the bylaw had to appear in court, which was costly because of the required legal processes, including having a lawyer and the bylaw officer who issued the summons appear on behalf of the city.

The amendment passed on Monday allows enforcement staff to write voluntary tickets for violations of those areas of the bylaw, giving violators the option of paying a fine rather than going through court proceedings.

The amendment includes a fine structure of $250 for a first offence, $500 for a second offence and $750 for third and subsequent offences.

Examples of areas in which the land use bylaw has no specified penalties include building fences higher than allowed, failing to meet landscaping requirements or storing goods outdoors on commercial property.