One of three persons accused in connection with a suspected Perryvale-area theft ring appeared on Aug. 6 in Athabasca Provincial Court.
One of three persons accused in connection with a suspected Perryvale-area theft ring appeared on Aug. 6 in Athabasca Provincial Court.
Andrew Dwayne Lysohirka, 21, pled not guilty, elected to be tried by a provincial court judge, and set the matter for trial on Feb. 3.
He is currently in Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre with bail denied.
Lysohirka is facing 13 charges; nine of them are for possession of stolen property.
Lysohirka is also facing firearms offences and is accused of tampering with a vehicle identification number.
He was arrested June 24 along with Kristie Lee Zehner, 32, and Gary William Fornahl-Bogden, 29, in the Perryvale area.
Lysohirka's brother Robert was arrested July 2 in Rochester on charges including possession of stolen property and flight from police; his case is also before the courts.
Duane Henry Stadnek, 48, of Saskatchewan faces charges of armed robbery and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace. He appeared in Athabasca Provincial Court last Monday, and the matter was put over for one week to Aug. 12.
He is accused of committing an armed robbery at Value Drug Mart on July 31.
It is the first such crime the area has seen in "many, many years" according to Athabasca RCMP Sgt. Brian Scott.
Athabasca RCMP received a call at 2:51 p.m. that Wednesday. The caller said a man brandishing a knife had held up Value Drug Mart.
The suspect allegedly approached the customer service counter in Value Drug Mart, held a female employee at knifepoint and demanded a narcotic painkiller.
No one was hurt in the incident.
Four people accused of involvement in a theft ring have put their matters over until Aug. 26.
The number of charges against Kevin Dwayne Stubley, 37; Travis Neil Faragher, 27; Joshua Alan Holmes, 28; and Maighdline Kinsella-Fortin, 38, who allegedly committed thefts in and around Athabasca County for more than seven years, has risen to 108, according to Crown prosecutor J. Morrison.
Each of the accused in the group arrested May 28 in the Forfar area has a myriad of charges against them and is being detained at the Edmonton Remand Centre. All four appeared in Athabasca Provincial Court via closed-circuit television Aug. 6.
If the accused are found guilty of charges of possession of stolen property over $5,000, they could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.
They also each face multiple counts of possession of stolen property under $5,000, an indictable offence carrying a prison sentence of up to two years in jail.
Other charges against the group include unauthorized possession of a firearm, careless use of a firearm and possession of a restricted or loaded firearm with ammunition, which could carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Additional related offences include possession of a firearm knowing its possession is unauthorized.
The accused also face charges of possession of a break-in instrument "suitable for the purpose of breaking into any place, motor vehicle, vault or safe under circumstances that give rise to a reasonable inference that the instrument has been used or is or was intended to be used for such a purpose," according to section 351 (1) of the Criminal Code.
