St. Albert police have arrested a man and charged him with 13 counts of fraud under $5,000 following an alleged rental scam.
On June 28 police received two complaints of a rental property fraud from separate victims.
Both victims reported they have viewed an apartment at #69, 113 Eastgate Way, paid a $1,500 damage deposit and signed a lease for July 1. The Shaw Communications fraud department warned the victims that several people had requested hook-ups at the same unit for the same date.
Police investigated, and additional victims came forward reporting rental fraud for the same apartment, at which point the St. Albert General Investigation Section became involved.
Following several victim and witness interviews, police arrested Craig Archibald Ayers, 50, on Aug. 4. He’s charged with 13 counts of fraud under $5,000, and is scheduled to appear in St. Albert Provincial Court on Sept. 12.
St. Albert Victims Services is working with the victims, and will provide free support through the court process.
Someone attempted to rob the Morinville Mac’s store at knife-point early Monday morning, but left empty-handed.
Morinville RCMP got the call about the robbery Aug. 8 around 4:05 a.m., and responded within minutes along with police dog services.
A lone man reportedly went into the store brandishing a knife, wearing a black sweater and a face-covering balaclava. He walked in the front door and went around behind the counter toward the till with the knife in one hand and a bag in the other.
The man didn’t say or take anything while he was in the store, and left heading north. He could not be located.
He’s described as being about five feet four inches with a slim build, and he was wearing all dark-coloured clothing with no identifiable marks.
Two men and one boy have been charged with trespassing after they were caught on the roof of Sturgeon Heights School on Hogan Road in St. Albert.
The call came in around 11:30 p.m. Aug. 6. The roof of the school is currently under construction, and the caller was not sure if tools were being stolen.
The three did not appear to have stolen anything, but were all charged with trespassing under the Petty Trespass Act, which comes with a $287 fine.
St. Albert RCMP say residents are complaining that graffiti detracts from the city’s beauty. Several incidents have recently been reported.
On Aug. 6, police got two reports of graffiti left overnight. Someone spray-painted the boards at the Salisbury rink in the Sturgeon area, and someone also targeted a power box near Vital Grandin School.
On Aug. 4, a senior in the Grandin neighbourhood reported someone had spray-painted their fence, which borders a public pathway.
On Aug. 2, someone reported an offensive message left in blue permanent marker on the rear doors of Albert Lacombe Catholic School.
Police are asking residents to be proactive about reporting graffiti and removing it promptly.
A police bike patrol officer has seized nine grams of pot and some paraphernalia from a vehicle parked on a secluded spot on Poundmaker Road.
The St. Albert RCMP officer was patrolling Aug. 2 and noticed the vehicle and approached. Noting a strong smell of marijuana, the officer seized the drugs. The vehicle’s occupants were let off with a warning.
Police are reminding residents that pot is illegal without a prescription, and even with a prescription, it can impair your ability to drive and you can be charged.
Police are asking the public to help identify a man alleged to be involved in two thefts from the same liquor store this summer.
On July 18, St. Albert RCMP responded to a complaint of a theft from the Liquor Depot on Hebert Road. A man took a bottle of liquor from the store, then got into a waiting white Ford pickup truck with a canopy and a stolen licence plate.
The store reported a similar incident June 15, A man left the store with a bottle of liquor and joined others waiting in a white Kia SUV with a stolen B.C. licence plate.
The suspect is described as being a native man about six feet tall, in his 20s or early 30s and weighing about 220 pounds, with tattoos on his hand.
Someone made off with nearly $1,000 worth of golf clubs after a break and enter Aug. 3 in Heritage Lakes.
The owner reported the garage door had been left open by mistake and someone stole a $500-$600 Ping driver and a $350 Taylormade driver. Both clubs are for right-handed golfers.
A St. Albert business reported a barbecue and vacuum stolen on Aug. 3.
A woman went into the Canadian Tire store, loaded a barbecue into her cart, and left without paying for it. She returned later and put a Bissell carpet cleaner into her cart, again leaving without paying and loading it into her car. She then left the area.
Police do not yet have a description of the suspect, but say the car was described as an older-model Toyota Corolla, possibly a 2001.
Police are looking for the owners of two bikes found around 7 p.m. Aug. 3 hidden in the bushes near the playground at Attwood Park in Akinsdale. The owners of the bikes can claim them by phoning police and describing them.
Police recover lost and stolen bicycles all summer long, and many remain unidentified, and encourage residents to note the serial numbers on their bicycles to make reclaiming them easier in the event they’re stolen.
