Saskatchewan RCMP: on duty in your community -September 26 to Sunday, October 2, 2022, inclusive

Please note all information below occurred within the time period above, unless otherwise noted.

Saskatchewan RCMP – Your Provincial Police Service

From October 7 to 10, Saskatchewan RCMP will join police forces from across Canada in Operation Impact, an annual initiative to increase road safety. Operation Impact focuses on education and enforcement of the four most significant factors of serious and fatal collisions: impaired driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving and not wearing a seatbelt or wearing one incorrectly.

If you are travelling this Thanksgiving weekend, Saskatchewan RCMP reminds you to:

• Ensure that all vehicle occupants are buckled up.
• Give yourself time to get where you are going.
• Be respectful on the road: use your turn signals, don't tailgate and pass other cars safely in prescribed areas.
• Have a designated driver or plan to take a cab or transit if you plan on consuming products which result in impairment, such as alcohol or cannabis. If no safe ride is available, stay the night and drive only when sober.
• Pull over and immediately call 911 if you see a suspected impaired driver.

Investigative Recap

September 5: At approximately 12:00 a.m., Nipawin RCMP received a call of a disturbance at the Nipawin Hospital. Officers attended and investigation determined an individual had damaged seven windows. After further investigation, on September 24, 2022, a 20-year-old female from Nipawin was charged with one count, mischief over $,5000, Section 430(3) of the Criminal Code. She is scheduled to appear in Nipawin Provincial Court on Wednesday October 26, 2022.

September 24: At approximately 9 a.m., Buffalo Narrows RCMP received a report of a suspicious vehicle at a cabin located off of Highway #925. Investigation determined a cabin was broken into, a gun safe was damaged and three firearms were stolen. Meadow Lake RCMP recovered the suspect vehicle and one of the firearms later that day. Buffalo Narrows RCMP continues to investigate with the assistance of Saskatchewan RCMP's Forensic Identification Services. Anyone with information should call Buffalo Narrows RCMP at 306-235-6660.

September 26: At approximately 1:20 p.m., Saskatoon RCMP received a report from an individual concerned about the well-being of a family member. An officer from the Saskatoon RCMP Detachment attended the home in Viscount, SK, to conduct a welfare check. At approximately 2:48 p.m., police received a 911 report of a female who had injured a police officer with a knife at the home. Initial efforts to apprehend the female were unsuccessful as she continued to resist arrest. Additional RCMP resources and an ambulance were called to assist.

In the meantime, the responding police officer was able to disarm and apprehend the woman. She then became unresponsive. Upon arrival, EMS administered Naloxone to the woman. She was transported to a hospital in Saskatoon for further medical treatment and has since been released. The RCMP officer did not require an ambulance and received medical treatment at a hospital for minor injuries.

The knife was located on scene and seized for further investigation by police.

As a result of this investigation, a 28-year-old female, from Valleyview, AB, was charged with the following:

• One count of assaulting a police officer, contrary to Sec. 270 of the Criminal Code;
• One count of assault with a weapon, contrary to Sec. 267(a) of the Criminal Code; and
• One count of resist arrest, contrary to Sec. 129(a) of the Criminal Code.

She remains in police custody and appeared in court in Saskatoon on September 29, 2022. The investigation is ongoing.

September 27: Yorkton RCMP seize firearms, including semi-automatic with silencer, after report of break-and-enter

September 29: Jeremy Mackenzie located and arrested in Halifax, N.S. on Canada-wide warrant

October 1: At approximately 1:10 a.m., Beauval RCMP received a report that shots were fired at a residence in Beauval. Officers immediately responded. Preliminary investigation determined a firearm was discharged from a vehicle at the residence. No injuries were reported to police. At approximately 1:50 a.m., officers located one of the suspect vehicles and attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle did not stop and collided with the police vehicle while driving away. At approximately 2:15 a.m., officers were driving on Highway #165 while investigating a separate incident when a firearm was discharged at them from the ditch area. No injuries were reported from the collision or the firearm discharge. Beauval RCMP and Saskatchewan RCMP Police Dog Services searched a wooded area south of Beauval for the suspect. Police located and arrested an adult male within an hour. One suspect vehicle was later located by police in Beauval on October 1.

Ashton Corrigal, 27, of Ile-a-la-Crosse is charged with:

• two counts, assault with weapon, Section 267(a), Criminal Code
• one count, pointing a firearm, Section 87(1), Criminal Code
• one count, careless use of a firearm, Section 86(1), Criminal Code
• one count, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, Section 88(1), Criminal Code
• one count, using a firearm in the commission of an offence, Section 85(1)(a), Criminal Code
• one count, weapons possession contrary to order and fail to surrender authorization, Section 117.01(1), Criminal Code
• one count, possession of a firearm knowing possession is unauthorized, Section 91(1), Criminal Code
• one count, recklessly discharge a firearm, Section 244.2(1)(b), Criminal Code
• one count, fail to comply with release order condition, Section 145(5)(a), Criminal Code

Corrigal will appear in Meadow Lake Provincial Court on October 3, 2022. Beauval RCMP continue to investigate.

October 2: At approximately 4:30 a.m., Maidstone RCMP received the report of a vehicle collision on the eastbound land of Township Road 482, approximately 3 km west of Highway 21 north. Maidstone RCMP along with EMS and Maidstone Fire and Rescue responded. Both sides of the Township Road 482 were temporarily blocked from traffic to investigate the scene. A black SUV appeared to have sustained significant damage from rollinga over multiple times. A 45-year-old was identified and declared deceased on scene by EMS. He was the only occupant of the vehicle. Next of kin have been notified and Victim Services has been engaged to provide support to his family. An RCMP Traffic Collision Reconstructionist and the Saskatchewan Coroner's Service also attended the scene to investigate further. The cause of the collision is still being investigated.

Five kilograms of cocaine seized by Battleford RCMP's Gang Task Force as part of large, cross-border investigation. Five kilograms of cocaine were seized in North Battleford as part of Project Cobra, a cross border investigation that resulted in the seizure of an estimated $55 million in illicit drugs, as well as firearms, luxury vehicles and property.

Fifteen people were arrested and charged, including two individuals from North Battleford. You can read more about the investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration here: https://alert-ab.ca/project-cobra-intercepts-55-million-worth-of-drugs-2/. Battleford RCMP's Gang Task Force assisted in the August 2022 seizure.

"Removing five kilograms of cocaine from the streets undoubtedly makes our community safer. Illicit drugs put lives in danger and they also increase occurrences of property crime and gang activity. That's why Battleford RCMP works diligently – including in partnership with other police and public safety agencies – to keep drugs off our streets," says Sgt. Adam Buckingham of Battleford RCMP's General Investigation Section. "Certainly, this investigation also shows that drug trafficking at the local level is sometimes tied to organized crime. We are appreciative of our partners at ALERT and the many agencies involved in this in-depth three-year investigation."

The Battleford RCMP Gang Task Force's mandate is to target organized crime, the drug trade and serious property crime. Since its inception in November 2019, the Gang Task Force has led a number of successful drug trafficking investigations, including the execution of search warrants and drug interdiction traffic stops. These initiatives have taken a significant amount of drugs and firearms off local streets.

Incidents in Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction September 26 to October 2, 2022

Please note: the statistics below are representative of reports received within the Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction. They are from the RCMP records management system and are accurate as the day they are collected. Crime statistics are regularly updated due to changes in reporting procedures, changes in ongoing investigations, etc. As a result, the statistics below may differ from previous or future published reports.