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Red Deer man shot dead

A 29-year-old Red Deer man was shot and killed in the Inglewood neighbourhood, in a southeast part of the city, early Sunday morning.
Brandon_Prevey
Brandon Prevey

A 29-year-old Red Deer man was shot and killed in the Inglewood neighbourhood, in a southeast part of the city, early Sunday morning.

Red Deer City RCMP said the victim was known to police and investigators are looking into the possibility that his death may be gang related with direct links to the drug trade.

Police said Brandon Prevey was shot while seated in a vehicle on Ibbotson Close and he succumbed to his injuries.

Red Deer City RCMP and Red Deer Emergency Services arrived shortly after 3 a.m. and found Prevey dead.

An autopsy will be performed by the Calgary Medical Examiner’s Office, but the exact cause of his death will not be released until the autopsy is completed.

An Edmonton newspaper was reporting that a man by the same name was previously charged with second-degree murder, along with Steven Anthony Pillon, in the death of Kenyon Joseph Gardiner. The second-degree murder charges were dropped after the Crown said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove who had killed Gardiner.

The charges stem from an argument in May 2005 at a party in Edmonton. The Edmonton newspaper reported that the two men pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon and were sentenced to 30 months each in January 2007, with 18 months of credit for time served in pre-trial custody.

Red Deer City RCMP Const. Sabrina Grunow confirmed that Prevey had lived in Edmonton in the past, but could not confirm that he was the same person as the Edmonton man charged.

“Some of those details should come out as we get further into this investigation, but our primary focus is ultimately finding who is responsible for it,” Grunow said.

The Inglewood neighbourhood in Red Deer’s far southeast is made up of beautiful new homes, many with stone on the front and nicely-tended lawns. Ibbotson Close includes a straight section of road, followed by an oval shaped road. On Sunday afternoon white markings where police had been investigating were still visible just before the straight section of the road goes into the oval portion. The area where the incident took place is not far from a playground.

Jakub Krauze, an Inglewood resident, said he was just gone to bed when he heard a quick burst of gunfire — at least seven shots — not far from where he lives at around 3 a.m. Sunday. Then he heard someone “floor it” in a car and speed off.

“At first I didn’t think they were gunshots, but they were pretty distinct sounding,” Krauze said. He said police officers were on the scene five to ten minutes later.

Another neighbour Bill Gutsche was woken up by the shots that he said were “like popping sounds.”

The area around where the shooting took place was blocked off with police tape and residents weren’t allowed to enter or exit around the crime scene from early Sunday morning until at least 10 a.m. Sunday.

Gutsche said it was a long night, with flashing lights from the police vehicles and flashes from the photographs being taken by investigators.

Gutsche said the incident shook him up a bit. “You don’t expect it. It’s a fairly quiet neighbourhood.”

Krauze has lived in the neighbourhood for five to six months.

“It’s just a random happenstance. It could have happened anywhere,” Krause said.

Grunow couldn’t say if Prevey lived in the Inglewood neighbourhood, but said he was living in Red Deer. She said she wasn’t able to say the type of vehicle Prevey was in or if anyone was in the vehicle with him at the time of the shooting.

“The only information that we have at this time is that we are currently looking for a small black car. Witnesses did report shortly after hearing gunfire that a small black car was seen leaving the area at a high right of speed,” Grunow said. She said that was all the information they had on suspects at this point.

Grunow said Red Deer City RCMP are asking the public to come forward with details.

“No detail is insignificant,” she said. “People need to step up and provide that information to police. They ultimately will keep our city safe.”

Anyone with more information is asked to call Red Deer City RCMP at 403-343-5575, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com.

This is the second homicide in the city this year. In early February, Teagan Klein was killed in her Anders home.

Last November, Fred and Lily Walker died in a murder-suicide in November, when 92-year-old Fred Walker killed himself and his 84-year-old wife Lily. In August, 27-year-old Nathan Casey, of Red Deer, was killed. Before then there had been no homicides for three years in the city.

Red Deer City RCMP general investigation section, police dog services, forensic identification section, criminal intelligence section, organized crime unit, and “K” Division serious crimes branch are continuing with the homicide investigation.

sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com