Canada

Police blotter: A deadly party and fisticuffs on ice

A roundup of odd police reports from across the country

British Columbia: Two men entered a jewellery store in a downtown Vancouver mall just after opening and robbed it at gunpoint. The thieves smashed display cabinets at La Swiss Watch City and stuffed jewellery in bags. Before fleeing, they unloaded a can of bear spray in the area. Police are looking for two white males in their 40s.

Alberta: A Calgary house party turned deadly after a confrontation with party crashers. When five strangers showed up uninvited, police were called to ask them to leave. Several hours later, the group returned and entered the home. Brett Wiese, 20, died after being stabbed. Mitchell William Harkes, 19, and a 17-year-old young offender have been charged with second-degree murder.

Ontario: Police say a celebration among figure skaters at a Mississauga hotel “got out of hand” earlier this week, leading to a scuffle which left one male skater with a minor cut to his face. Authorities were called at 5 a.m. after a noise complaint. Eight Skate Canada members were involved in the fight. Police are not pursuing criminal charges.

Quebec: Police have cracked a large auto-theft ring operating out of Montreal. Investigators said most of the stolen vehicles were luxury SUVs and pickup trucks. The majority of them were taken from hotel parking lots near Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport. They were to be loaded into containers and shipped to Africa. So far, 10 vehicles have been recovered. Police were executing 10 warrants. No arrests have yet been made.

Nova Scotia: Historical artifacts stolen from four Halifax institutions were recovered by police after a raid on a home north of the city. Among the items: a letter written by a British general in 1758 before the Siege of Louisbourg, stolen from Dalhousie University, and an 1819 painting taken from the legislative library. Police charged John Mark Tillmann with four counts of possession of stolen property worth over $5,000.

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