A St. Albert man has died at the Drumheller Institution and RCMP have charged four inmates in the case.
On Feb. 21, just after 1 p.m., Drumheller RCMP were called to the Drumheller Institution where David James Klassen, a 33-year-old St. Albert man, was found dead, according to a statement by RCMP.
The RCMP have determined the circumstances surrounding Klassen's death to be "suspicious."
Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit investigated Klassen's death while working Correctional Service Canada.
According to RCMP, inmates Tyrel Brandon Lance Runningrabbit, 19; Trent Fox, 21; Vincent Robert Pierre Cardinal, 26; and Thomas Joseph Alfred Abraham, 22; have been charged and appeared in Drumheller provincial court on Friday.
They are set to appear in Drumheller provincial court again at 9:30 a.m. on March 11.
Klassen had been serving a sentence for manslaughter since March 2017.
Klassen pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and was sentenced along with Joseph Gordon Charron, after the pair staged attack on a Trevor Deleeuw in April of 2016.
Deleeuw was a drug user and trafficker who worked for Klassen, and in the year leading up to Deleeuw's death, Deleeuw stole drugs and money from Klassen, according to news reports at the time. He then fled the area with his girlfriend. He owed Klassen around $75,000.
In April 2015, Deleeuw and his girlfriend returned to Edmonton and Klassen was tipped off by one of Deleeuw's friends he was back in town.
On the night of April 6, 2015, Deleeuw and his girlfriend were picked up in St. Albert and taken to Edmonton, where the group stopped at a happy mart, court heard at the time. The person who had tipped off Klassen — who was part of the group — was shown on surveillance video making a call.
The group got back into the vehicle, drove down the road, and all but Deleeuw and his girlfriend were left inside. Moments later Klassen and another man approached the vehicle, where they hit Deleeuw over the head with a baseball bat. Klassen fired a shot through Deleeuw's arm that entered his torso, according to an agreed statement of facts presented in court at the time.
Klassen and the other man fled while the rest of the group got back into the vehicle and drove back to St. Albert. Deleeuw died on the drive, and his body was dumped in the parking lot of a condo complex, court heard.
Klassen was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime.
Klassen had also been charged for his involvement in a drug smuggling ring between Edmonton and the Bowden Institution in January of 2021. Klassen was one of 11 people charged with 60 offences, according to RCMP.
During the investigation, which ended on Dec. 17, 2020, officers seized 35 grams of fentanyl; 88 grams of methamphetamine; 620 grams of cocaine; 1,341 grams of cocaine buffing agent; 1,745 grams of cannabis; a handgun with a removed serial number; and $206,000 of cash.
