PENHOLD – Local Mounties have caught a trio of known criminals in the act of breaking into the area dump and they are now facing numerous charges, including serious weapon and drug offences.
Shortly before 9 p.m. on April 13 Innisfail RCMP were dispatched to a break and enter in progress at the Horn Hill waste transfer station, four kilometres east of Penhold.
Innisfail RCMP Sgt. Lori Eiler said Mounties arrested three suspects on scene in connection to the break and enter, along with possessing a stolen Ford F-350.
Eiler said a search of the stolen vehicle uncovered a loaded sawed-off shotgun, a substance believed to be methamphetamine, and a significant quantity of stolen property.
“We found a great deal of stolen property, not necessarily just from Horn Hill. We found property linking them to other crimes in the area,” said Eiler, adding the arrests and seizures could help solve other property crimes.
“It has given us some indicators on some other files for sure,” she added. “Most of them are not in our jurisdiction, so I can’t comment directly on those but needless to say they are definitely people known to the police and people we would like to keep an eye on.”
Corbie Fedyk and Conner Mueller, both 27 and from Red Deer, along with 37-year-old Mac Smith of Edmonton, are jointly charged with:
• break and enter
• possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
• possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000
• possession of break-in instruments
• transporting a firearm in a careless manner
• possession of bear spray for a dangerous purpose
• possession of a prohibited weapon without a licence
• possession of an unregistered prohibited weapon
• possession of a prohibited weapon in a motor vehicle
• possession of a loaded prohibited weapon
• possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number
• two counts of possession of methamphetamine
Eiler said Mueller also faces an additional three charges of possession of a firearm contrary to a court order and two counts of obstructing a peace officer.
Mueller has been remanded into custody to appear in Red Deer provincial court on April 20, while Smith, who was also remanded into custody, was scheduled to appear in court on today.
Fedyk was released with conditions by a justice of the peace.
If anyone has any additional information about these crimes or others, they are asked to contact the Innisfail RCMP detachment at 403-227-3341. If they wish to remain anonymous RCMP can be contacted through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or online at www.P3Tips.com.
