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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015
LANGLEY
SURREY
Woman rescued during vicious umbrella attack
Gangster convicted following shooting outside a strip club
MONIQUE TAMMINGA LANGLEY TIMES
A Langley woman is offering a public thank you to the Good Samaritan who stopped a man from physically attacking her and her vehicle on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The woman, whose name is being protected because of the trauma she experienced, said she was pulling out onto 200 Street when she startled a man walking on the sidewalk. “He was not hit or injured in any way,” the woman said. She rolled down her window to apologize for scaring him when he unleashed a verbal and then a physical assault on her. Through her open window he plunged his umbrella at her chest and neck, striking her hard twice and then continued trying to attack her as she frantically rolled up the window. “He continued to try to break in by smashing his umbrella against the glass,” she said.
“The terror continued until someone came to rescue me. This gentleman pulled him away from the truck.” Langley woman, name withheld
He circled the truck, kicking at the doors, punching the windows and mirrors, eventually snapping and breaking them. “The terror continued until someone came to rescue me. This gentleman pulled him away from the truck,” the woman said. “I rolled down the window to warn him, ‘he’s crazy, he stabbed me’ and ‘be careful.’ “My assailant tried to break free and, even with one hand held, bent down and picked up some rocks and threw them to further attack me.”
It was then the woman noticed a white tractor trailer blocking a lane of traffic. She wonders if it belonged to her Good Samaritan. She said by then, others had come to help as well. But she was still frightened, so she drove to the nearest community police office where she made a statement to RCMP. She worries about the safety of those who came to aid her and hopes no one was hurt. Police patrolled the area but we unable to find the man, said Cpl. Holly Largy. The suspect is described as white aged 25 to 35, about 5-foot-8 with short brown hair, wearing jeans and a light-coloured jacket and carrying a black umbrella. The woman has a message to the man who came to her rescue. “I want you to know how grateful I am that you intervened and risked your safety to rescue me.”
Man arrested after trying to steal unmarked cop car A would-be carjacker got a surprise Monday evening when he was immediately arrested after unwittingly trying to steal an unmarked cop car, police said. The Surrey RCMP said it happened at 6:25 p.m., near 71st Avenue and 135th Street. When he tried to yank an undercover officer from the driver’s seat, police said, they told him who he was messing with and took him into custody. “The suspect got the ride he wanted, but probably not to the location he was hoping for,” Cpl. Scotty Schumann said. Kyle Blair Berg, 25, of Penticton had a warrant for his arrested out of Penticton, for wearing a disguise with intent. He’s in custody, Schumann said, “and is facing possible new charges of robbery and breach of probation along with the warrant.”
◆ GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
Pair of men aided after being caught in avalanche A day of recreation in the snow-covered mountains of Glacier National Park was cut short for two men after they were caught in an avalanche on Sunday. The avalanche occurred on Bruins Ridge in the Connaught drainage at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Glacier National Park visitor safety technician Percy Woods said it was triggered by a skier, who was with another man on a snowboard. The boarder was about two-thirds of the way down the
A United Nations gang associate has been convicted of aggravated assault and acquitted of the more serious charge of attempted murder in connection to a shooting outside a Surrey strip club nearly seven years ago. According to an Oct. 16 B.C. Supreme Court decision posted online last week, the accused, Aram Ali, was in a Lincoln Navigator with United Nations gang leader Barzan Tilli-Choli outside T-Barz night club on Feb. 15, 2009. As a Range Rover carrying gang rival Tyler Willock and three others left the club, Ali opened fire from the Lincoln, firing eight shots from his semi-automatic pistol – four of which went through the target vehicle’s front window. Willock, who the Crown claimed was the intended target, was not hit, but the driver (who can’t be identified due to a publication ban) was struck in the shoulder and his ear was grazed. Tilli-Choli and Ali sped back to Van-
couver, Ali throwing the pistol out of the window not far from the scene. At trial, Ali did not deny shooting the gun, but insisted he never meant to hurt anyone. While the Crown contended Ali intended to kill, Ali testified he only fired his gun to scare off the person he believed to be driving the Range Rover. The Crown pointed to an intercepted conversation Ali had with Tilli-Choli, as well as testimony from Ali’s former girlfriend – both of which were rejected by Justice Heather Holmes as unreliable. She concluded there was insufficient evidence Ali aimed to kill someone that night, but said it was clear he intended to cause injury. “Nothing in the evidence, including Mr. Ali’s explanation, which I have rejected, raises a reasonable doubt that he intended his shots to hit a person,” wrote Holmes in her decision. “Although the evidence is not sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Ali intended, specifically, to kill, there can be no doubt that he intended to wound.”
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slope when the skier began his descent. Woods said there were plenty of other skiers in the area, including a group of five that contained two ski guides with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. They came to assist the two men — the skier first and then the snowboarder. Woods said the two men were uninjured.
◆ ABBOTSFORD
City goes to court to remove sex offender The City of Abbotsford is going through the courts in its battle to remove child sex offender James Conway from a home on Joanita Place in Abbotsford. The city filed a notice of civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court against property owners Brian Vos and Fiona Mitchell, as well as supervisor Ed Holroyd and WJS Canada. The latter operates supervision and care facilities in B.C., Alberta and Ontario and provides supervision, counselling and treatment for high-risk individuals. The suit alleges that the defendants are using the property for “commercial, institutional and care uses,” which are not permitted under the “Agricultural One” zoning for the neighbourhood. Mayor Henry Braun announced in September that the defendants had been notified of the city’s position and that Conway, Holroyd and the home’s other resident — also a former inmate — had been asked to move. They have not done so, resulting in the city filing the civil suit. The defendants have not yet filed a response.
The Regional District of Nanaimo is now accepting applications to the following advisory bodies: