Regina Police Service pouring resources into 3 active homicide investigations: Chief

The Regina Police Chief says all hands are on deck as officers investigate three homicides in the city that all occurred in the past week. 

Chief Evan Bray said he has brought in investigators from all corners of the service to handle the influx of cases.

"This is ... not just our frontline response and our dispatch, but then it involves investigators, it involves court services, and involves our media, a whole bunch of different areas," Bray said.

"The fact that we've been able to hold people responsible, that we've made great steps forward in the investigations, those types of things are very, very important."

So far, a 17-year-old has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Majok Agwait Majok. Witnesses told CBC Majok was shot while trying to break up a fight in his home on Friday morning. 

The accused teen appeared in provincial court on Monday morning. He cannot be named due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Police found Rodney Troy Ruberry, 49, injured in a home on the 4400 block of Dewdney Avenue Friday afternoon. He was taken to hospital but died a few hours later. 

No arrests have been made but police have deemed his death a homicide.

On Saturday, 24-year-old Isaiah Trent Allary was found injured at an address on the 1200 block of Rae Street. He was pronounced dead shortly after. 

Devon Wayne Cyr, 25, has been charged with first-degree murder, two counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition and failure to comply with a prohibition order. He also appeared in provincial court Monday and was held in custody. 

Bray told reporters that none of the homicides seem to be related, but he said in each case, the victim knew the suspect. 

"Really what we're talking about then is not necessarily a random incident, but incidents that oftentimes take that real tragic twist when you've got alcohol or drugs involved," said Bray. "When you've got weapons present and angers flaring."

"That's what we're seeing in these cases."

There have been a total of four homicides so far in Regina in 2020. There were nine in all of last year.

Alcohol, drugs and weapons

Bray wouldn't confirm if any of the homicides were gang-related. He attributes the trend to alcohol, drugs and weapons, which he said are now present in vehicles, homes and on people. 

"People are carrying firearms, people are carrying edged weapons, and so again, when you have that kind of a spark that happens people aren't making good decisions because they're under the influence of drugs and alcohol," Bray said.

"They have a weapon on their hip or in their pants and the ability for them to use it quickly has dire consequences and that's really what we're seeing here in the last week."

Bray said police are working with community partners to proactively prevent crime by offering support for those with addictions and mental health concerns. 

"We'll continue to do that, continue to work with community partners and see what we can do about really trying to reduce the number of these tragic incidents happening in our city," he said. 

Bray said that crystal meth is the number one driver of crime in the community, but didn't say if any of the recent homicides were directly linked to the drug. He said he recently attended a meeting on opioids with all the police chiefs in the province and the Ministry of Health.

He said the police service is working to limit the supply of meth, fentanyl and other opioids but is concerned with the number of people who are already addicted.