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By Shane Clausing
Ridgevalley Incident

Two Red Deer men arrested following Ridgevalley incident Wednesday

Feb 3, 2021 | 4:13 PM

UPDATE (Feb. 4, 2:54 p.m.): Grande Prairie RCMP have charged 31-year-old Michael Russel Charles Stemmler and 41-year-old James Patrick Gosse, both of Red Deer, each with:

  • Arson
  • Unauthorized possession of a firearm
  • Careless use of a firearm
  • Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
  • Possession of a prohibited weapon
  • Possession of stolen property over $5000 (two counts)

Both have been remanded into custody and are scheduled to appear in Grande Prairie Provincial Court on February 8.

“The RCMP would like to thank the communities and residents in the Ridgevalley area for their assistance and cooperation during this incident.”

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Two men from Red Deer are in police custody awaiting a bail hearing in relation to firearm offences in the Ridgevalley area on February 3, that led to a police situation in the area and a hold and secure at Ridgevalley School.

Police say that at 7:48 a.m., the Grande Prairie RCMP received a complaint of a suspicious vehicle that had become stuck in a field in the area of Range Road 264 and Township 705.

Both Grande Prairie RCMP rural officers and the Grande Prairie Police Dog Services responded to the complaint.

While RCMP were en route, they had learned the vehicle in the field had been set on fire and two suspects were observed fleeing the area on foot.

When mounties arrived at the scene, the RCMP police dogs initiated a track for the suspects who had gone into a wooded area in the field.

As they began to track the suspects, gunshots were heard. Officers were forced to retreat for the time being and additional resources and officers were called in.

Prior to additional resources arriving on the scene, one suspect ended up surrendering.

Once reinforcements arrived, officers contained the area for an hour. Eventually, the second suspect also surrendered and was taken into custody. There were no injuries reported.

The Grande Prairie RCMP rural officers, Grande Prairie RCMP PDS, Grande Prairie RCMP Crime Reduction Unit, Grande Prairie RCMP municipal members, Grande Prairie RCMP General Investigation officers and Valleyview RCMP officers all participated in the arrest.

by Shane Clausing