ATHABASCA – “We’re doing whatever we can to catch those guys” says Athabasca RCMP Cpl. Dan Fenton about the now six fires that have been intentionally set in Calling Lake since July 25.
The latest fire occurred Aug. 13 and is also believed to be arson, frustrating both law enforcement and the residents of Calling Lake who have taken to social media, asking for the fires to end.
“(There was) another fire yesterday morning at No. 8 Cardinal Street in Calling Lake,” Fenton said. “We believe it was intentionally set also.”
Police from the Athabasca detachment are investigating and do have leads, but are asking for anyone with information to come forward before someone gets hurt or killed.
“We need somebody to come forward to provide us with information that’s credible that we can utilize to go to court with, because right now, nobody’s telling us anything,” said Fenton.
Four of those fires fall into the 214 calls for service members of the Athabasca detachment have handled since July 29. Those calls include nine criminal charges; one traffic charge; 20 cases still under investigation; 97 that were completely solved as non-criminal; 40 were deemed to have insufficient evidence for charges to be laid; and 16 others were cleared by departmental discretion.
Guns and ammo seized
A search warrant was executed on a gun safe in Calling Lake resulting in the seizure of ammunition and firearms.
During the course of arresting a 23-year-old man on unrelated charges, officers noticed a gun safe and knew the owner of the home was prohibited from having firearms, prompting the search warrant and the seizure.
Assaults
A 26-year-old Calling Lake man was charged with assault on a peace officer along with two charges of assault with a weapon.
In separate incidents, a 43-year-old Athabasca man was also charged with assault and is having a mental health assessment while he is held at the Edmonton Remand Centre, and later, a 23-year-old man was charged with domestic assault.
Failing to comply
Luc Roy, 30, from Athabasca, was charged with failing to comply with an order when he was trespassing at a local grocery store.
“They've given him a notice to stay off the premises so it's a trespassing order. So, if you go back in there, you're charged again,” Fenton said.
Traffic violations and impaired driving
The traffic charge was a result of an accident where a driver backed into another vehicle and left the scene. A Sturgeon County man was also charged with impaired driving while operating a Sea-Doo at Island Lake.
Heather Stocking, TownandCountryToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @HLSox
