OKOTOKS, Alta — A man once shot while prowling an Okotoks-area property who went on to sue that property's owner, has again been arrested for an alleged break-in and theft.
According to a June 7 press release from Strathmore RCMP, Ryan Randy Watson, 45, of Calgary was arrested on June 1 following a complaint of a break-in at a Telus cell tower.
At around 5:21 a.m., police were contacted by Telus Communications that there was a break-in and theft in progress at one of its towers, located on Range Road 261 south of Highway 21 in Wheatland County.
An employee live-monitoring the situation provided a vehicle and suspect description, and when RCMP responded they found two suspects attempting to leave the scene.
Mounties blocked their escape from the site and conducted what the press release described as a high risk take down of the suspects.
A male and female exited the vehicle and were arrested, and a search of the vehicle revealed a large amount of copper wire, cutting implements and break-in tools.
Both suspects were transported to the Strathmore RCMP detachment and the vehicle, a green 1999 Toyota Sienna, towed for further search and examination.
The same vehicle had been reported earlier for suspicious driving.
The female suspect, who the press release does not name, was wanted on outstanding warrants from other police jurisdictions, and was released to attend a future court date on charges related to the incident.
Watson has been charged and released on documents to appear at a future date.
Watson was found to have nine outstanding warrants between four police jurisdictions, in addition to the charges laid in this most recent incident which include break and enter with intend to commit an indictable offence, theft over $5,000, possession of break-in tools and operating a motor vehicle without an operator's licence.
Watson had previous run-ins with the law, most notably when he and a co-accused were caught car prowling on Feb. 24, 2018 on the rural property of Edouard Maurice south of Okotoks.
While on the property around 5:40 a.m., Watson and the co-accused went through vehicles while Maurice was home alone with a one-year-old daughter.
During the encounter, Maurice issued a verbal warning and allegedly fired a warning shot into the ground, which ricocheted and struck Watson in the arm.
Maurice was charged with gun offences and his court appearances received national attention with hundreds of people supporting his right to defend his home.
All charges against Maurice were dropped.
Watson later pleaded guilty to mischief and failure to comply with a court order at Okotoks provincial court on Feb. 28, 2019. He was sentenced to 45 days in custody, but was released after receiving credit for time served.
Months later, Watson would go on to have Maurice served at his home, informing him he was being sued for $100,000 in damages, with Maurice filing a counter-claim of $150,000 and pushing to get the lawsuit against him dropped.
Watson's lawsuit was dismissed by the Court of Queen's Bench on Jan. 16, 2020.
Shortly thereafter on Jan. 22, 2020, Calgary Police Service issued a warrant for Watson on Twitter alleging stolen property, possession of a controlled substance, and failure to appear in court.
