MEADOW LAKE – Charges were dropped against two men facing organized crime and attempted murder charges after a witness failed to show in court Friday.
Jonathan Shane Walter Iron walked out of Meadow Lake Provincial Court a free man.
Christopher Michael Nolan, from Lloydminster, pleaded guilty to a driving offence and was given an additional 12 months to be served concurrently to the sentence he is serving at Prince Albert Correctional Centre on other charges.
Iron and Nolan were charged after a man was shot on Cochin Avenue in Meadow Lake around 7 a.m. on Jan. 4, 2021.
Meadow Lake RCMP had received six reports from callers that two men shot at a parked white car. Police found a 20-year-old injured man at the scene. He was treated by EMS and taken to Meadow Lake Hospital before being taken to a Saskatoon hospital.
Police say that the white car wasn’t in motion at the start of the incident but later struck a power pole and caught on fire. The car had multiple bullet holes.
RCMP issued warrants for the arrest of Nolan and Iron on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Iron was arrested at a home in the 100 block of Carter Place in Meadow Lake on April 16 without incident.
High-risk arrest of Nolan in Edmonton
Nolan was arrested at the West Edmonton Mall Inn on May 4 when Edmonton Police and Saskatchewan RCMP did a high-risk takedown. Two other wanted individuals, Raheem Hagan, 20, and Christopher Gilbert Ernest, 23, both of Meadow Lake were arrested also at the hotel with Nolan.
Ernest had escaped custody at the Meadow Lake court on April 26 when he was appearing on numerous charges including resisting arrest, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, unauthorized possession of a weapon, assault with weapon and failing to attend court. In September, Ernest was sentenced to 45 days in jail.
Hagan was wanted in connection to an April 13 incident in Meadow Lake where police responded to shots fired outside of a business in the 600 block of 1st Avenue. In September, Hagan was sentenced to 1,639 days on weapons offences, and 244 days concurrent on the charge of discharging a firearm.
According to RCMP, two separate groups of people got into an altercation outside the business. During the altercation a firearm was discharged numerous times and one bullet hit the windshield of a nearby car. The person in the vehicle wasn’t injured.
Gang related
Saskatchewan RCMP Inspector Murray Chamberlain said incidents in Meadow Lake in January and April were gang-related and involved illegally obtained firearms.
Chamberlain said over the past year, the Saskatchewan RCMP implemented several initiatives to address an increase in gang presence and violence in the west central part of Saskatchewan. They include the Crime Reduction Team, the Gang Task Force, the General Investigation Section, detachment teams, the Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit, Integrated Intelligence Units, the Division Criminal Analytical Service and the Crime Prevention/Crime Reduction Team.
Get out of a gang
If you are associated with a gang and want to leave it, contact the following organizations to get assistance:
- STR8 UP in northern Saskatchewan at 306-763-3001.
- STR8 UP in central Saskatchewan at 306-244-1771.
- Regina Treaty Status Indian Services in southern Saskatchewan at 306-522-7494.
If anyone has information about these incidents, including details about any of the individuals involved, they are encouraged to report it to Meadow Lake RCMP at 306-236-2570 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS -8477.
ljoy@glaciermedia.ca
