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Suspect charged in Bowden inmate death

Police have charged a suspect in the alleged stabbing death of an inmate at Bowden Istitution on Sunday.

Police have charged a suspect in the alleged stabbing death of an inmate at Bowden Istitution on Sunday.

Keith Clinton Sandmaier, 33, was to be in Red Deer provincial court Friday to answer a charge of second-degree murder in relation to the death of David Tung Louie, 38.

Sandmaier is serving a three-year sentence for a variety of property offences, including armed robbery, assistant Rita Wehrle said on Thursday. He is due for statutory release on those convictions in November of this year.

Louie, convicted in 2003, had been serving a 12-year sentence in relation to weapons, drug and robbery offences.

He was found in medical distress at 10:45 a.m. Sunday and rushed to hospital in Innisfail, where he was pronounced dead.

The 585 prisoners in the medium-security area of the prison were placed in lockdown while Corrections Canada and the RCMP Major Crime Unit from Lethbridge conducted their investigation. The lockdown did not affect the 72 inmates in the low-security area.

The status was changed to modified lockdown on Thursday afternoon, with prisoners being released from their cells one unit at a time.

It’s necessary to proceed cautiously in case there are any unresolved issues that could affect the safety of inmates and staff, said Wehrle. Barring any difficulties, she expected that the prison would be returned to normal by Friday evening.

Bowden Institution is located alongside Hwy 2, between Innisfail and Bowden.