Teen’s death prompts flood of tips to police
Police have received new tips into the mysterious circumstances behind the death of a Penhold teenager.
K-Division media spokesman Sgt. Patrick Webb said on Thursday that more than a dozen tips have come in this week concerning what people may have seen on Hwy 2A, just south of Red Deer’s city limits.
Logan Jesse Raymond, 17, was discovered face down by a passerby at about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 12. Raymond was on the phone about two hours earlier so police are working with a two-hour window frame.
Webb said police are trying to corroborate information as to what may have happened to the teen, who had been walking home from a party in Red Deer.
Red Deer Rural RCMP, which is receiving help from Red Deer City RCMP’s major crimes unit, are investigating the death as suspicious. An autopsy revealed the teenager died of a severe head injury.
Webb is urging people, even if they saw nothing while driving on the road during that time, to call RCMP at 403-343-5500.
“It’s very good for us that we have a short time frame and a location,” Webb said.
“We still believe it was likely he had come in contact with a vehicle . . . but we’re not excluding any other possibilities,” Webb said.
Several hundred people turned out for a service honouring Raymond on Tuesday in Red Deer.
Assault admitted by man
A man had charges of attempted murder, unlawful confinement and failure to comply withdrawn against him after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm on Wednesday in Red Deer provincial court.
Jusuf Izairi, 31, has been in custody since Dec. 29, 2009. He appeared in Red Deer provincial court on Wednesday, offering a guilty plea on assault causing bodily harm in place of a robbery charge.
Crown prosecutor Tony Bell asked that a charge of extortion be dropped as long as Izairi was willing to agree to a common law peace bond for 12 months, agreeing to keep the peace and not make contact with a list of individuals provided by the Crown. As part of the peace bond, there was a $1,050 no cash deposit.
Bell said the charge stems from an incident in mid-December 2009, when a man borrowed a car from Izairi, taking it to a place where illegal activity was going on. Izairi wound up striking the man in the face, giving him a bloody nose and splitting the man’s lip.
Bell said he was content with a sentence of time served for Izairi.
Izairi’s attorney Walter Kubanek said the charges were not substantiated. He said his client pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and does not have a prior record. Kubanek said without a prior record, normally a charge of assault causing bodily harm would mean a fine or a short amount of imprisonment.
Izairi will also have to submit his DNA to go on file.
Man faces drug charges
A trial will move forward for a Wetaskiwin man facing several drug charges.
Victor John Fraser, 44, was in Red Deer provincial court on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing.
He is charged with trafficking of a controlled substance, possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of stolen property, two counts of assaulting a police officer and obstructing a police officer.
A trial date hasn’t yet been set but Fraser will return to Red Deer provincial court on Sept. 12 to speak to the charges.
The charges relate to a month-long investigation by Battle River District RCMP general investigation section, with assistance from Hobbema RCMP community response unit and Wetaskiwin RCMP.
During their investigation, police seized 2.7 kg of marijuana.
Suspect sent to jail
A man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant has been given 10 days in jail.
Police asked for the public’s help in late June in locating Gerald Doty, 48, who disappeared while on statutory release. He had been living in Red Deer when he disappeared.
Doty has a history of 46 convictions dating back to 1978, the most serious of which include armed robbery, aggravated assault, assaulting a police officer and escaping lawful custody.
He was found guilty of an obstructing an officer on Wednesday and given 10 days in jail.
Transit service centre moves
The City of Red Deer’s transit service centre is moving on Sept. 1.
Steve Parkin, transit facilities superintendent said on Thursday that the centre will be up and running in the new Sorensen Station site.
It is currently located in City Hall.
The centre will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and will offer ticket and pass sales, transit information and house a lost and found.
Action Bus multi-trip tickets will also be available in the new location.
Parkin said the new centre better meets the needs of transit patrons.
“That’s where the riders are.”
He said people will be able to buy tickets and get information when they get off and on buses.
Parkin also said the lost and found will be more convenient.
City Hall cashiers will still issue passes and tickets along with the new centre.
For more information, call 403-342-8225.
Bail denied, drugs found
A motorist who raised the suspicion of police when he ran a stop sign was denied bail on Thursday.
Red Deer provincial court heard the 23-year-old Edmonton man was noticed on Wednesday by RCMP in the Gasoline Alley area when he rolled through a stop sign.
A police investigation revealed the man has an outstanding drug trafficking charge from Feb. 16 in Edmonton.
There was no publication ban sought during the Red Deer hearing.
The driver appeared nervous and police detected a strong odour of car freshener, which is often used as a masking agent to hide drugs in a vehicle, federal Crown prosecutor Dave Inglis said.
Police conducted an investigation, including a police dog walking around the vehicle in Gasoline Alley, which indicated the possibility of drugs in the vehicle.
A search uncovered 205 grams of powdered and crack cocaine worth more than $20,000, court heard.
Court heard the man was arrested and charged in Edmonton when police were attempting to remove a stalled vehicle on the Yellowhead Hwy.
The driver showed up packing a gas can and was charged following an investigation.
Police found 14 grams of cocaine in 43 individually wrapped packages and $400 in cash.
A trial is set for November.
Dominic Nguyen returns to Red Deer court on Sept. 2 to enter a plea on possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking.
