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www.reddeeradvocate.com
Kidnapper guilty of sex assault, robbery
Shots fired at cop shop
BY ADVOCATE STAFF A Red Deer man pleaded guilty on Monday to a 2014 kidnapping of a Gasoline Alley hotel worker, robbery and sexual assault at knifepoint. A three-day trial was scheduled to start in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on Monday. Instead Justin Chase Mueller, 30, pleaded guilty to three of the five charges against him. According JUSTIN MUELLER to an agreed statement of facts read out in court, the hotel worker, who was 20 at the time, had left work after her shift and warming up her vehicle shortly after midnight on Dec. 3, 2014 when Mueller threatened her with a knife. He forced her into the vehicle and she begged him to let her go. He got behind the wheel and drove her to a bank where he forced her to withdraw cash from the bank’s automated teller and also stole money from her purse. She begged him to let her go again. Mueller drove her to a farmer’s field near Penhold where he sexually assaulted her twice.
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
An RCMP member photographs damaged windows above the north foyer on the north side of the downtown RCMP detachment building Monday afternoon.
FOUR ARRESTED AFTER DRIVE-BY SHOOTING BY ADVOCATE STAFF Four people have been arrested after the downtown police detachment was targeted in a drive-by shooting.
Two large second-storey windows above the front entrance were damaged in the incident that happened shortly before 4 p.m. The windows were damaged but did not break because of a protective coating. Police have not identified the weapon, or whether it was a real gun or replica, such as an Airsoft-type weapon. The suspects were located in the Bower neighbourhood shortly after
and taken into custody. Their age and gender were not released. RCMP closed the detachment to the public as a safety precaution after the incident. The public entrance is usually open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors to the station were redirected to the north satellite station on 67th Street. More information was expected to be released later, said a police spokesman.
Please see MUELLER on Page A8
Rimbey seniors lodge expected to open by the fall of 2017 BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF Work is about to begin on a long-awaited seniors lodge in Rimbey. “It’s a go,” said a clearly pleased Mayor Rick Pankiw. “We’re very excited. I’ve been working on this for about 30 months,” said Pankiw, who sits on the lodge building committee. Shunda Construction, which was awarded the contract for the $14.7-million lodge, is just waiting for the frost to come out of the ground to begin site work. When the province and federal government announced $13.3 million in funding in May 2014, it was hoped the first seniors would move into their new home by spring 2017. Given a projected 16-month build, the new move-in day will be late summer 2017. Rimoka Housing Foundation board chairman Paul McLauchlin said a variety of factors, including a provincial election and change in government, changing building requirements and design and construction tweaks
Photo by SCOTTY AITKEN/Freelance
A long-awaited seniors lodge in Rimbey is expected to open in 2017. stretched out the start date. McLauchlin said the foundation was pleased with how quickly the last piece of unfinished preliminary business — official ministerial approval — was obtained. Penciled in as a process likely to take months, the necessary paperwork was signed within a couple RED DEER WEATHER
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of weeks, he said. The new facility will have 82 rooms, including six double-occupancy suites. Some of the new rooms will be created by remodeling the existing outdated facility. Exactly how the building will be reconfigured is still being worked out.
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McLauchlin said a new construction management approach is being taken with this project. A project charter has been formed that will include representatives from Rimoka, Berry Architecture, and the province. “Instead of having a project manager as an individual, we actually have a project management team,” he said. Charter management has been used successfully on big projects elsewhere. One of the advantages is it taps into local knowledge, resources and contacts, an approach that McLauchlin believes has saved money. “It’s a new approach that the provincial government is taking I think on a lot of these major projects,” he said, adding the seniors lodge is believed to be the biggest infrastructure project — besides the hospital — undertaken in Rimbey. Since it was first announced, there has been no change in how badly needed the facility is say local representatives. “The need, if anything, is up,” said Pankiw. McLauchlin agrees room demand is high. “We’re pretty sure they will be full in no time.”
Numbers are unofficial.
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