Local briefs - January 15
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Robbery suspects arrested
Two men were arrested late Wednesday after it’s alleged they robbed and assaulted a youth walking across a bridge.
Const. Sabrina Grunow of city RCMP said on Thursday that the 17-year-old male victim was taken to Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre shortly after 9 p.m. suffering from undetermined but non-life threatening injuries.
Police said the incident occurred on the walking bridge over the Red Deer River along 49th Avenue.
It’s alleged the 17-year-old boy was walking with a teenage girl and they were approached by two 25-year-olds who requested cigarettes.
When the youths didn’t comply, the male youth was assaulted. They stole his backpack and fled into a nearby wooded area.
Two suspects were located a short time later by police and arrested without incident.
The suspects are from Red Deer and Rocky Mountain House respectively. They remain in custody pending a bail hearing.
Charges are pending, Grunow said.
Break-in suspects on the loose
Police seek the public’s assistance in locating three suspects fleeing from a Mountview area residence they had broken into on Tuesday.
Const. Sabrina Grunow of city RCMP said on Wednesday that an occupant of a residence in the 3700 block of 44th Avenue noticed a male and two females fleeing the home around 12:18 p.m.
The male, who had a backpack, fled with the females north on foot. They were last seen at the intersection of 39th Avenue and 44th Avenue, police said.
An RCMP dog team was called to search for the suspects.
They weren’t located but some of the missing property was recovered.
The suspect male is described as Caucasian and about 30 years old. He wore a ski jacket and had a black backpack.
There is no description of the females.
Police ask that anyone with information about the break-in call 403-343-5575 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Accused thief reserves his plea
A Mirror man who was allegedly chased and shot by a farmer for stealing an ATV reserved his plea on Thursday.
Harold Groening, 31, is expected to enter a plea on Feb. 11 after he appeared in Stettler provincial court.
Groening was released on bail on Jan. 2 after he was arrested on warrants for allegedly failing to show up in court for the trials of other accused.
He is charged with theft of more than $5,000, theft of less than $5,000, possession of stolen property and failing to appear in court.
Groening is scheduled to testify at the preliminary hearing of farmer Brian Knight, 38, of the Tees area, who allegedly shot Groening on March 26, 2009. That trial is set for June 17.
An all-terrain vehicle was reported stolen from Knight’s farm yard.
Knight faces charges of allegedly shooting Groening in the upper leg and back with a shotgun.
Knight is charged with unlawful use of a firearm, pointing a firearm, possession of a dangerous weapon, assault with a weapon, criminal negligence causing injury, dangerous driving and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
A second accused — Kyle Rosenthal, 24, of Alix — is charged with theft of less than $5,000. He has a trial on June 22.
A third accused — Nick Dewald, 22, of Alix — pleaded guilty to theft earlier and was fined $400.
Author to share inspirational story
New York Times bestselling author and Rwandan genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza will share her inspirational story of faith, hope and forgiveness during a fundraiser set for March 1 at the Harvest Centre at Westerner Park.
Money raised at the event will go to the Red Deer Catholic Regional School Education Foundation, which was created last year in a partnership with the Red Deer and District Community Foundation to fund scholarships for Catholic students and put money towards projects at Catholic schools around Central Alberta.
During the fundraiser, Ilibagiza will talk about how her world was torn apart when her family was murdered during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The three-month ordeal claimed the lives of close to a million Rwandans.
Ilibagiza was able to survive thanks to the help of a local pastor, who allowed her and seven other women to hide silently together in his small bathroom for 91 days as killers rampaged with machetes around the community on the lookout for the women. Ilibagiza learned about the power of prayer and developed a profound relationship with God during her time in hiding, which allowed her to forgive her family’s killers.
Cocktails for the event start at 5 p.m., followed by the gala dinner and talk by Ilibagiza at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the gala dinner are $125, which includes the dinner, a copy of Ilibagiza’s book, book signing, one-hour talk by Ilibagiza and auction. Tickets for the dinner are available by phoning 403-343-1055 or by email at foundation@rdcrd.ab.ca.
Those wishing only to see Ilibagiza speak, but not attend the dinner, can go to the one-hour talk with tickets for $25 available through the Black Knight Inn Ticket Centre at 403-755-6626 or 1-800-661-8793 or online at www.blackknightinn.ca.
sobrien@reddeeradvocate.com
Crash injures Central Albertans
One of the four people injured on Wednesday evening in an accident just east of Red Deer was later transferred to an Edmonton hospital, a Red Deer Emergency Services spokesman said on Thursday.
An eastbound SUV collided with an eastbound grain truck turning north at Hwy 595 and Range Road 262 at about 6 p.m.
The driver of the grain truck, 49, received minor injuries, department spokesman Marty Lang said.
The driver of the SUV, 32, suffered fractures to his legs and possible internal injuries. A 13-year-old female passenger in the SUV suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Another SUV passenger, a 33-year-old woman, suffered multiple injuries and was taken from Red Deer hospital to the Royal Alexander Hospital by ground ambulance.
Lang said all the collision victims are from Central Alberta.
Rocky store robbed
Rocky RCMP are investigating a convenience store holdup.
At about 9:25 p.m. on Wednesday, RCMP were dispatched to a robbery at Rolf’s Convenience store located at 5337 59 Ave. in Rocky Mountain House.
A white male described as 1.7 metres (five feet, 10 inches) with a slender build, short brown hair and wearing a white hooded sweatshirt entered the store brandishing a handgun and demanded the money from the till.
The employee complied and the male grabbed an undisclosed amount of money and fled on foot.
Red Deer police dog services and forensic identification services attended the scene to assist with the investigation.
No suspect is in custody and the incident remains under investigation.
