RCMP have charged two men in after a break-and-enter in Pleasant River. (Vlad Vasnetsov via Pixabay)
Two men are facing multiple charges after a break-in at a home in Pleasant River on May 31.
Queens District RCMP say they’ve charged Devon Matthew James Kanne, 34, of Danesville, with breaking and entering and committing. He has been released on conditions and will appear in Bridgewater provincial court on Aug. 13.
Michael Gerald Wentzell, 32, of Italy Cross, is charged with:
Breaking and entering with intent
Uttering threats against a person
Assault with a weapon
Possession of property obtained by crime less than or equal to $5,000
Three counts of failure to comply with probation order (three counts)
Two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon knowing its possession is unauthorized
Two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon for dangerous purpose
Wentzell appeared in Bridgewater provincial court on June 2 and was released on conditions. He’s scheduled to be back in court on June 25.
Police say they responded to a break-and-enter at a home on Old Chelsea Road at about 8 p.m. on May 31. They were told a man broke into the home wielding a knife.
The homeowner confronted the man, who threatened the owner. The homeowner then left the residence and called police.
The suspect fled the scene in an SUV driven by another man.
About 45 minutes later, Lunenburg District RCMP stopped the vehicle in Hebbville. The driver, who was the only person in the vehicle, was arrested.
The other man alleged to have broken into the home was found walking along Hwy. 208 near Crouse Road and arrested at about 9:30 p.m. by Queens District RCMP.
RCMP say they recovered the stolen property and nobody was injured.
A Queens County man is the latest victim of intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia, RCMP say. (RCMP)
RCMP have charged a man with second-degree murder in a domestic assault in Queens County in late March.
On March 28 at 3:30 a.m., Queens District RCMP and paramedics responded to a weapons call at a home in Mill Village.
They found an 84-year-old man with life-threatening injuries after being stabbed. Another man fled earlier in a vehicle.
Officers arrested a suspect later that morning, at about 7:45 a.m. at a home in Voglers Cove.
Derek Dominix, 60, of Mill Village was charged then with attempted murder.
The 84-year-old man died on April 11 in hospital, where he had been since the attack.
The Nova Scotia medical examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide, according to an RCMP news release.
Police say it’s a case of intimate partner violence.
The Southwest Nova RCMP major crime unit took over the investigation and upgraded the attempted murder charge to second-degree murder on April 22.
Dominix remains in custody and will appear in Bridgewater provincial court on May 15, at 9:30 a.m.
This is the ninth person killed because of intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia since Oct. 18, 2024. Seven women have been killed in cases linked to their male partners. In one of those cases, a woman’s father was also killed.
An RCMP spokeswoman said they won’t be releasing the victim’s name.
Anyone experiencing, or at risk of, intimate partner violence can seek help anonymously by calling 211 or 1-855-225-0220.
RCMP have charged a 60-year-old Mill Village man with attempted murder.
Queens District RCMP were called to a house on Hwy. 3 in Mill Village on March 28 at about 3:30 a.m.
Officers and ambulance personnel found an 84-year-old man with life-threatening injuries after being stabbed.
Another man had fled the scene before police arrived, according to an RCMP news release late Wednesday afternoon.
Both men knew each other, and no one else was in the home at the time of the assault.
Police arrested a suspect at a home in Voglers Cove at 7:45 p.m.
Derek Dominix, 60, has been charged with attempted murder and taken into custody. He’s scheduled to appear in Bridgewater provincial court on April 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Students and staff at Liverpool Regional High School were under a hold and secure order for a short time on Wednesday morning. (Rick Conrad)
An incident at Liverpool Regional High School on Wednesday forced officials to secure the school and students.
Parents got an email at 10:50 a.m. telling them the school was in a “precautionary hold and secure”.
“Everyone is safe and this measure has been taken out of an abundance of caution, due to a potential safety concern in the community,” the email said.
“During the hold and secure classes will continue as normal, access to the building will be limited, and students will remain inside the school for breaks.”
The email told parents that the hold and secure would remain in place until “police confirm normal activities can resume”.
The hold and secure order was lifted around lunchtime, according to a spokeswoman with the South Shore Regional Centre for Education, who also provided QCCR with a copy of the email.
She told QCCR to contact the RCMP for further details.
RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Carlie McCann said police are still investigating and would likely provide an update in the next few days.
“I can’t provide any further information at this time,” she said Thursday.
Students heard on Wednesday that another student brought a pellet pistol to school.
“I think some guy flashed a pellet gun at someone,” Logan Sarty, a Grade 12 student at LRHS, said outside the school on Thursday. “That’s the main thing I’ve been hearing around.”
Sarty said everybody appeared OK afterward, but there was speculation in the halls about the alleged incident.
“A lot of people thought that it shouldn’t be hold and secure because there was a lot of talk of it being a rumour.”
Another, unrelated incident occurred at South Queens Middle School on Wednesday. A school board spokeswoman said that was “more common”, as staff dealt with a disruptive student.
Some of the drugs seized in RCMP raids in southwestern Nova Scotia earlier in February. (RCMP Nova Scotia)
UPDATED Feb. 25 at 5:20 p.m.
RCMP have charged 21 people, including three from Queens County, with more than 50 offences after raids on Mi’kmaw-owned cannabis businesses in Queens, Kings, Lunenburg and Annapolis counties.
Southwest Nova RCMP called the operation Project Highfield. It began in October 2024 and involved 13 dispensaries throughout southwestern Nova Scotia.
RCMP said Tuesday it involved officers from various units, as well as police services in Kentville, Bridgewater and Annapolis.
Police raided the retailers between Feb. 4 and 13. Two of those were on the Wildcat and Ponhook reserves of the Acadia First Nation.
RCMP held a news conference in New Minas on Tuesday afternoon to announce the charges and items seized.
They conducted raids on dispensaries on- and off-reserve, Supt. Jason Popik of Southwest Nova RCMP told QCCR on Tuesday, including in Acadia, Glooscap and Annapolis Valley First Nations.
Police seized:
141.4 kg of dried cannabis
189.29 kg of cannabis edibles
46 kg of liquid cannabis
23.4 kg of hashish
9.5 kg of psilocybin, or magic mushrooms
958 cartons of unstamped tobacco
18 firearms (17 long guns and a handgun)
$16,143.14 in cash
3 ATMs
7 shed-like structures
Supt. Popik told QCCR in an interview on Tuesday that organized crime is using indigenous communities to undercut the legal cannabis market, with unregulated product.
“I see them infiltrating the legal cannabis market and they’re really exploiting the indigenous communities,” he said.
“They’re trying to utilize the treaties to find a rational way for them to sell their drugs. And they’re doing it through the people running the different dispensaries. Organized crime will exploit any opportunity they have. … They’re making a lot of money, the dispensaries are the ones taking the risk and the dispensary owners are the ones being arrested.”
Supt. Popik said the wholesale value of all the drugs seized is about $1.25 million, while the street or retail value is between $2.5 and $3 million.
The Micmac Rights Association is protesting the RCMP action. Many of those charged belong to the organization.
The group says Mi’kmaw have a right under the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1752 to sell cannabis at truckhouses on reserve.
They say officers desecrated sacred objects, destroyed personal property and traumatized Mi’kmaw men, women and children. The group plans a protest on the Angus L. Macdonald bridge in Halifax on March 10. On June 21, a 15-year-old boy will lead a 111-kilometre march from Annapolis Valley First Nation to the Dartmouth RCMP headquarters.
Twenty-one people are facing 52 charges under the Cannabis Act, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Excise Act and the Criminal Code, including:
Possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling
Unauthorized sale of cannabis
Possession for the purpose of trafficking (psilocybin)
Possession of unstamped tobacco
Possession of unstamped cannabis
Careless use of a firearm
Possession of prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition
Service Nova Scotia’s alcohol, gaming, fuel and tobacco division, and the federal Public Prosecution Service, also assisted in the investigation, RCMP said.
Those charged will begin to appear in court in June, RCMP say. They say their investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.
An asbestos abatement crew cleans up the site at 89 Main St. in Liverpool on Wednesday. (Rick Conrad)
An abandoned property in downtown Liverpool destroyed by fire in the spring is finally being cleaned up.
The historic and unoccupied Hendry house at 89 Main St. was leveled in the May 13 blaze.
The Liverpool Fire Department referred it to the RCMP for investigation. The RCMP declared it suspicious and asked the public to come forward with any information.
An RCMP spokesman told QCCR in July that officers have closed the file for now, because there was insufficient evidence to keep the investigation open.
Fire services from around Queens County and RCMP officers responded to the fire at 4:40 a.m. on May 13. Nobody was injured.
On June 11, the Region of Queens declared the property dangerous and unsightly and ordered owner Rosemarie Jacob to clean it up, or the region would do it at her expense. Jacob didn’t appeal the order, so the region began the process to clean up the site.
Mayor Darlene Norman said Wednesday that initial testing found that there was asbestos in the siding of the house.
The region hired Asbestos Abatement Limited in Dartmouth to do the work. Norman said the company expects to have everything cleaned up by the end of the week.
“They say they’ll be finished by Friday,” Norman said. “The material is being deposited at another facility in Nova Scotia that accepts this material.
“The company indicated that they would have both the asbestos-containing materials removed, other debris on the property removed and the building foundation removed. … It is being done so that’s the important thing.”
Norman said the company has assured municipal officials there is no danger to nearby residents from the asbestos on site.
The cost of the cleanup isn’t known yet. But the mayor said it would be added as a lien to the owner’s taxes this year.
“(It) would be payable in 2025. And if at that time, the taxes are not paid in full, including the lien, then you would go to our policy regarding uncollected taxes. I believe one year of unpaid taxes and then the tax sale process would start.”
The property had been unoccupied for some time before the fire. And the owner had been difficult to reach, but Norman said the municipality was finally able to find her.
Norman said she’s happy to see the cleanup underway. And while she won’t be running for re-election, she said a future council may decide to try to do something with the property once it’s cleaned up.
“I know many people have been wanting that corner widened. There are some people who want it left historically the way it is. But there’s lots of vocies from people who work at Queens General (Hospital), from people trying to get 18-wheelers around that corner, there’s going to be a huge amount of housing development that’s going to require vehicles going that way, but that will be future decisions by a future council. But at this time, our main goal is to have that corner cleaned up so people can be free of the black tarps and the fencing and the things that are there at this point in time.”
Norman added that because the cleanup cost will be applied to the property owner’s taxes, the region likely won’t release the figure because of privacy concerns.
A house on Wolfe Street in Liverpool was gutted by fire on Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured in the blaze. (Rick Conrad)
Emergency crews were busy in Queens County on Tuesday as a house fire in Liverpool left a family homeless, and a motor vehicle collision snarled traffic in the Brooklyn area.
The Liverpool Fire Department was called to 61 Wolfe St. shortly after 2 p.m. When firefighters arrived on the scene, the house was fully engulfed, according to Liverpool Fire Chief Trevor Munroe.
“We encountered heavy fire conditions on arrival. No one was injured. We did check the homeowner but he seemed fine.”
Munroe said the home’s residents and their pets were outside when firefighters arrived.
Fire crews clean up after a house fire in Liverpool on Tuesday afternoon. (Rick Conrad)
Six fire departments from Liverpool, Port Medway, Mill Village, Greenfield, North Queens and Italy Cross were at the scene.
Munroe didn’t have many more details on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ll do a preliminary investigation and then turn the home back over the homeowner and they’ll bring in their insurance company.”
Also on Tuesday afternoon, traffic was being diverted in Brooklyn after a motor vehicle collision in the Sandy Cove area.
Few other details were available late Tuesday afternoon. RCMP could not be reached for comment.
QCCR will publish more details as they are available.
Queens District RCMP plan to step up patrols in North Queens after complaints of underage off-highway vehicle use. (RCMP NS Facebook page)
RCMP in Queens County are cracking down on underage ATV operators in North Queens.
Queens District RCMP officers will be stepping up patrols in the area after getting numerous reports from residents over the past several weeks of minors illegally operating off-highway vehicles at high speeds and often late at night.
RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Carlie McCann says it’s all about safety.
“Members are making sure that there are police officers who are out there in order to enforce these laws, but also to ensure that people are being safe,” McCann said in an interview Monday.
“The big reason that laws like this exist is to make sure that people are safe when they’re out operating their off-highway vehicles and using the trails in our communities. So the biggest reason is to make sure that we aren’t seeing peple doing things that are unsafe on their OHVs.”
McCann did not know how many calls the RCMP received or in which specific areas of North Queens this is happening.
“Any type of report like this is too many when it’s unsafe behaviour, like driving too fast and at night. The number of calls that have been received have been enough to promote some concern.”
RCMP say that Queens County has no designated roads or highways yet listed under the Nova Scotia Off-Highway Vehicles Act. And operators must have a valid driver’s licence and wear helmets. Children between the ages of 6 and 15 must be supervised by a parent or guardian.
“I think the biggest thing to remember is that you have to be thinking about safety all the time on things like this,” McCann said.
“It’s really important to use common sense, so making sure that all riders have helmets, making sure that people are using (the vehicles) safely and know how to use them properly, making sure that your vehicles are well maintained and making sure that you are having common sense when you’re picking areas you’re riding in and picking who’s going to be driving the vehicles.”
Under the Off-Highway Vehicles Act, offenders can be fined up to $2,000 and have their vehicle seized by RCMP.
A 24-year-old Sable River man is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after fleeing an RCMP checkpoint early Saturday morning. (File photo from RCMP NS Facebook page)
An early-morning checkpoint and a flight from police have left a 24-year-old Sable River man in hospital with life-threatening injuries.
About 1 a.m on Saturday morning, Queens District RCMP officers had a checkpoint set up on Milton Road near Liverpool. A Volkswagen Golf approached and then made an abrupt U-turn to head north on Highway 8.
According to a news release, an RCMP officer immediately left the scene to try to stop the Golf.
RCMP spokesman Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay told QCCR on Monday that the cruiser was not involved in the crash. The officer found the car off the road and on its roof.
Along with the driver who was sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries, the car’s passenger was also injured. She is a 25-year-old woman from East Green Harbour. Her injuries were not life-threatening.
Cpl. Tremblay did not have an update Monday on their conditions.
“Our officers will do checkpoints at random times throughout the day. From my experience, 1 a.m. is not abnormal. We often do checkponts through the night to conduct traffic enforcement such as impaired drivers that might be out there,” he said in an intervew.
“Oftentimes, there could be many reasons why someone may conduct a U-turn before a checkpoint. It could be a legitimate reason, but it could also be a reason because the person could be impaired, it could be because they don’t have a drivers licence, it could be because they’re wanted. And oftentimes our officers will then get in their vehicle and try to pull over the vehicle that proceeds with the U-turn.”
Cpl. Tremblay did not know exactly where on the Milton Road the checkpoint was set up.
Highway 8 was closed for several hours, while a collision reconstructionist visited the scene.
Cpl. Tremblay says officers continue to investigate.
“The investigation remains ongoing. That could involve criminal charges such as flight from police. The same goes for any impairment level. Our officers would be looking to obtain search warrants or warrants to seize any blood … just to determine if the person was impaired at the time of the crash or not.”
