More arrests may be coming
Leader staff
Three men are charged with breaking, entering and theft, after they were seen fleeing the scene of a break-in on July 24.
According to a news release from the Slave Lake RCMP, a call about a B&E at a residence in southwest Slave Lake came in at 5:45 p.m. on the above date. Investigating, police got a description of a trio of suspects. A search commenced, covering “various areas in town,” and resulted in the arrest of the three suspects.
As a result, a 51-year-old and a 39-year-old Slave Lake resident are facing charges. So is a 46-year-old resident of Fort Vermilion, Alberta. They were released by a justice of the peace, to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Slave Lake, on Aug. 23, 2023.
Slave Lake has been awash in break-ins and thefts in recent weeks and months. This has included two or three at a shop on 3rd Ave. NE, one at a real estate office, and more recently at a church in the southeast part of town, where several musical instruments were stolen. Social media chatter following that incident was sharply – and probably unjustifiably – critical of the RCMP for ‘not doing anything.’
“It is what it is,” says RCMP Sgt. Casey Bruyns, referring to the rash of thefts and public reaction to them. “We arrest and charge them: what happens after that is not really our thing. If they get released, it’s not us that’s doing it.”
Bruyns adds that the three arrests likely won’t be the last.
“We’re looking at a couple more – one in relation to a business (break-in).”
Bruyns says the summer months are often when a lot of this sort of thing goes on. This summer might seem bad, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the summer of 2019 was, he says.
When there are no witnesses, catching the crooks becomes much trickier, as in the case of the church B&E. Asked about that one, Bruyns says, “We’ve got some specialized members helping us out on that,” but would say no more.
Asked if the three people arrested are suspects in other recent B&Es, Bruyns says, “not yet. Different people.”
