Viking RCMP and the Eastern Alberta District Rural Crime Reduction Unit (EADCRU) have arrested a man at a home in Viking on February 6. Mounties were executing a joint operation to arrest several wanted subjects and gained access to the home with a warrant.
Inside the home, police seized several items including a loaded gun, methamphetamine, stolen property from a related investigation and drug-trafficking paraphernalia. Only one man was arrested inside; 53-year-old Michael Patterson of Wainwright. Patterson faces a number of charges, including unauthorized possesion of a firearm, careless use of a firearm, possession of property obtained by a crime under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
Patterson also has outstanding warrants from Viking, Westlock and Wainwright. He first appeared in the Vegreville Provincial Court on February 11 and his next appearance is scheduled for March 11. In a statement, Viking RCMP Detachment Commander, Corporal Brad Mouland, calls the arrest a team effort between RCMP detachments and EADCRU.
“The teamwork and intelligence sharing between RCMP detachments and EADCRU, along with information from the public, allows us to successfully target and apprehend the main offenders in our rural areas,” says Cpl. Mouland.