A man faces multiple arson charges in the Alberta Avenue area and police call him a key suspect in a complex investigation.
Darcy Wheeler, 38, was arrested Wednesday. He is charged with seven counts of arson, two counts of arson with contempt for human life and several charges of firearms.
The Edmonton Police Department held a press conference Thursday to update the investigation.
Current headquarters Sgt. Dave Graham said police learned they had a serial arsonist in August 2021. A team was set up to investigate the fires.
Graham says they have investigated more than 100 fires in the area in 2021 and 2022. They have managed to link 44 to the arson investigation.
“We were able to connect them together. About whether it is interesting people, addresses or owners, but we managed to connect them, “he said.
Graham will not go into detail about additional suspects in the case, but confirmed that there may be more charges.
“The investigation is ongoing, so we hope to get there with additional suspects, but at this point we are just following the evidence. And at that point, that pitted us against Darcy Wheeler, and that’s why we’re blaming him now.
Graham confirmed that the face of the photos sent by police in connection with the June 7 fires was Willie.
He also spoke of the frustration of some in the community who have been awaiting charges for more than a year.
“It simply came to our notice then. Like the stories they told us, this is awful. So that was a high priority from the time it happened until now. And we didn’t stop working on it. “
“Arson investigations are really complicated, especially this one. It included many places, many people of interest, limited evidence. “
COMMUNITY RESPONSE
Dorothy Roberts lost her home in an arson attack on June 17, 2021. Police released surveillance video of two people carrying gas cans into her yard before the fire started earlier this month in hopes of generating information.
Investigators have not confirmed to her whether the fire that destroyed her home was blamed on Willier. In fact, she says she’s heard almost nothing from the police over the past year.
“I spoke to a police officer on the day of the fire. We spoke to a detective a few weeks later but he did not contact me or my partner. We had to track down his business card from one of our neighbors. And then we didn’t hear anything until the day they released the surveillance footage,” she told CTV News.
Roberts said police received the surveillance video the morning of the fire. She wants to know why it took them a year to release it to the public.
“The house was a total loss. It was a house from 1913, one of the oldest houses in the neighborhood. Ninety-nine percent of our belongings were destroyed and our cats, Gordon and Buffy, did not survive,” she said.
She and her partner are in the process of rebuilding, but supply chain issues are delaying the project.
Meanwhile, she says her neighbors live in fear.
“Every night people hear fire trucks going by and think, ‘Oh my God, could that be my house?’
FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ARE UNDERWAY
In addition to the arson investigation, Graham says a police drug and gang team conducted a parallel investigation that led to the seizure of drugs and a gun.
“Yesterday, they carried out search warrants and seized a significant amount of fentanyl, over a kilogram, and firearms,” he said. “This investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration and gangs at a later date.
Willier has a long criminal past, court records show. He has been convicted of not stopping a vehicle and evading an employee, as well as possessing more than $ 5,000 in stolen property.
Graham also said Thursday that Willie is linked to Abdullah Shah, also known as Carmen Pervez.
The notorious landlord in Edmonton was fatally shot earlier this year. The investigation into his death is still ongoing.
The police did not link Shah to the arson.
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