LAC LA BICHE - Two high-risk arrests — complete with an RCMP armoured vehicle, officers in tactical gear, winter camouflage and RCMP police dogs — have resulted in two men being charged in connection to the recent death of a Lac La Biche man.
Tyrone Jake Deschambeau, 26, and Wayne Ryan Blood, 37, have both been charged with second degree murder in the death of 41 year old Conrad Oliver Boostrom. The Lac La Biche man's body was found at a home in the Beaver Lake Cree Nation last Saturday by police responding to reports of multiple gunshots.
Arrests
In two separate events within a few hours of each other on the night of Nov. 23 and Nov. 24, Blood and Deschambeau were arrested without incident. Both arrests were made with a large police presence.
In one of the arrests, a portion of the Lac La Biche hamlet was blocked off as marked police vehicles, as well an armoured RCMP tactical vehicle and black suburbans surrounded a home.
Although police have not confirmed the exact locations of the arrests, some witnesses reported seeing officers with guns drawn and a military looking vehicle near 104 Street and 102 Avenue on Tuesday evening. Witnesses say the police presence lasted less than half an hour.
RCMP spokesperson Corp. Deanna Fontaine understands that residents would be surprised to see such an event unfolding in their streets, explaining the tactical response is the best way to carry out a potentially dangerous arrest.
"We understand it can be intimidating when you see heavily armed police," she said, explaining that in the context of a crime involving firearms and a fatality, all precautions are taken. "We do this when we are uncertain about an individual who is connected to this kind of a crime."
The level of response is to do all that can be done to protect the officers, the individuals being arrested and the general public, she said.
Both Deschambeau and Blood have been remanded into custody. Their first court appearance is on Nov. 29 in Lac La Biche Provincial Court.
