Not too long ago I left a post on here in part designed to provoke a response from the Police.
http://www.unsolvedcanada.ca/index.php?topic=53.msg55249#msg55249
quote:
Whether Cpl Johnson is just a career minded paper pushing puppet or a man of some personal integrity, I know not.

I've posted to this site on other topics, but only recently read through this thread.

I'm not going to engage in the circular Terry Arnold debate, but let me offer a point of clarity to all involved: Andy Johnson has not been with the RCMP major crimes section for at least two or three years. He's assigned to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the provincial squad that investigates police conduct in cases involving death or serious injury.

The reason I made this topic sticky, is because it is one of those cases that go almost no attention by any media. I think the reason is, they just assume the kid was a gang member.

With due respect, Chris, I have personally written nine articles about this case over the years -- and I have never assumed Aaron was a gang member.

I just searched the Infomart database and the case has been mentioned in 75 articles in the Herald and the Sun alone. While Aaron's case wouldn't be the focus of every article, certainly the majority of them would be primarily about his murder.

Additionally, I've mentioned Aaron's case several time on my crime blog -- often with details about the case not known or reported by other media outlets:

http://jasonvanrassel.wordpress.com/unsolved/ and here: http://jasonvanrassel.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/trial-reveals-killings-gang-links/

I don't think you meant to specifically pick on me, Chris, and I don't mean to pick on you because I respect what you do on this site. However, it just seems in many instances people unfairly accuse the media of "paying no attention" to a case based on their own hazy recollection of the press coverage. Yet time after time, I search the archives and turn up dozens of articles. I was on Facebook recently monitoring a group devoted to the unsolved killing of a Sikh man, where someone alleged the case received "no attention" and would have been on the front page if the victim was Caucasian. When I checked the media archive, I found out the story was on the front page. Again, I respect what this site is doing -- it would be nice if our efforts in the media were similarly recognized.

I've pasted below one of the many articles I've written about the case. It's not the best or the most lengthy -- in fact, it was a sidebar to an article about another unsolved case, the murder of Mark Poovong -- but it contains clarifying information regarding the role of John Pheng. Contrary to the Sun article from 2005, Pheng is NOT considered a suspect in Shoulders' killing, but was instead suspected of stabbing one of Aaron's friends.

'Does anybody have a conscience anymore?' asks grieving mom
Calgary Herald
Wed Apr 29 2009

Jason van Rassel
Calgary Herald

Steffi Stehwien knows the pain experienced by Mark Poovong's family all too well.

Not only was her son, Aaron Shoulders, likely killed by gang members, the crime also remains unsolved despite dozens of witnesses.

Shoulders, 18, was mortally wounded in August 2003 as he stepped in to protect a companion who was being attacked by a group of men outside the now defunct nyla nightclub on the 1st Street S. W. bar strip.

Like Poovong, Shoulders wasn't a gang member, but he fell victim to the violence that is all too common in their world.

"Aaron hated violence and would always step in. But that night was not a good night to step in," Stehwien said.

John Pheng, a member of the FOB Killers gang who was murdered two years later, was suspected of stabbing one of Shoulders' friends, but he was never charged with the crime.

A war between the FOB Killers and their rivals, FOB, is responsible for at least 25 homicides since 2002 -- 23 of them remain unsolved.

The death toll illustrates the gangs won't hesitate to use deadly violence against each other, and Pheng showed they also have little regard for the lives of anyone who crosses them.

In addition to being involved in the melee that led to Shoulders' death, Pheng stabbed and killed 18-year-old Jason Dang, who was dating his ex-girlfriend.

"Gang members in Calgary have a greater propensity for violence, and there are other families out there who are suffering like the Poovong family," said acting staff Sgt. Gord Eiriksson of the organized crime operations centre.

Pheng was never charged with killing Dang, but investigators linked him to the crime after he was shot and killed in 2005.

Shoulders' attacker, however, has never been identified, despite the crime happening on a crowded street as the bars on 1st Street S. W. emptied out.

the fact no one has ever provided investigators with information that could implicate shoulders' killer is doubly painful to his mother.

"It sickens me. It outrages me. I can't live in a society like that," Stehwien said.

"Does anybody have a conscience anymore?"

As it turns out, one of my predecessors at the Herald, legendary crime reporter (and now crime novelist) Rick Mofina, wrote a few stories that identified the POI. I worked at the Sun in 1998, and their crime reporter at the time, Pete Smith -- something of a mentor to me -- also knew POI's identity. However, the Infomart database I have access to doesn't archive the Sun that far back, so I can't say for sure whether they published the name or not....

Double-murder probe centres on car, gun
Calgary Herald
Sun Apr 12 1998

Rick Mofina, Calgary Herald

The gunshots fired in the murders of veteran Fort Macleod Mountie Sgt. Peter Sopow, 52, and his girlfriend, Lorraine McNab, 47, a Pincher Creek kindergarten teacher, echo in the hearts and minds of investigators trying to solve the five-month-old case.

Mounties feel they are close but aren't ready to arrest anyone.

``I can't elaborate further,'' said RCMP Sgt. Perry Kuzma of the Calgary-based major-crimes south section.

But Kuzma, who heads the investigation, will confirm that RCMP are investigating a mysterious car and the disappearance of a 22.-calibre rifle as part of an exhaustive probe into one of the most sensational multiple homicides in Alberta's history -- a case Mounties are convinced is solvable.

The bodies of Sopow and McNab were found Dec. 15, locked in a horse trailer on McNab's secluded property on a majestic site in the Rocky Mountain foothills overlooking the town of Pincher Creek, about 200 kilometres southwest of Calgary.

At about 10:30 p.m. Saturday Dec. 13, the couple returned to McNab's property after having dinner with her family.

But they made it only as far as the driveway of McNab's small mobile home when someone with a .22-calibre gun shot and killed the Mountie of 32 years with the force and McNab.

``They never even made it inside,'' Kuzma said.

He would not discuss how many shots were fired or how many shell casings were recovered.

There was no break-in, no thefts from Sopow's wallet, no sexual assault. The murder weapon has not been found.

The bodies of Sopow and McNab were dragged into a nearby horse trailer. Then the trailer's gate was locked.

On Monday, the tragedy was discovered and the hunt began as 30 Mounties from across Alberta assembled to chase leads, including one that remains crucial.

At about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 12, the night before the shootings, according to a witness, a car similar to a red or maroon 1973 Mercury Cougar was seen parked near McNab's property.

It was driven by a man with a slight build, grey hair and wearing a light brown coat with a smooth finish, according to the witness.

A public appeal by Mounties generated tips leading them to check 50 to 60 vehicles registered in Alberta and similar to the one reported by the witness. Two such vehicles are from the Pincher Creek area.

One, which turned out to be a Mustang, was cleared. The other, a red 1972 Mercury Cougar, has not been cleared, Kuzma said.

The registered owner lives in the tiny community of Cowley, 15 kilometres west of Pincher Creek. His description, according to investigators, ``is general but not inconsistent'' with the witness's description.

``The owner of that particular vehicle has not co-operated with us,'' Kuzma said.

``But we're keeping an open mind. . . . Hey, there may still be another person who occupied that vehicle that night, and maybe we haven't spoken to that person.''

Another key element is the unrecovered murder weapon.

At the outset of the case, Mounties followed the routine procedure of clearing every .22-calibre gun reported missing, lost or stolen in the area, which has involved about a dozen files. All but one have been cleared.

A .22-caliber rifle is missing from Cowley. Mounties will not confirm if the rifle and car belong to the same person, but the gun's owner was questioned on how the gun vanished.

One of the strangest twists in the case came two days after the murders were discovered. On Dec. 17, RCMP arrested and questioned -- without laying charges -- Wally Sparks, a local elementary schoolteacher who, according to his neighbors in Cowley, knew McNab.

The next day, Sparks was detained under the Alberta Mental Health Act and transferred to the psychiatric unit at Lethbridge Regional Hospital for assessment. He was released in February and lives in Cowley.

The Herald tried to interview Sparks, but he said ``I'm not interested in talking to you. I don't want to talk.''

The Herald has learned he owns, or owned, a red 1972 Mercury Cougar.

These factors are among others being studied by the investigators working in the crammed second-floor room of the Pincher Creek RCMP detachment, where the case is being co-ordinated.

Charts of data, news clippings and photos of Sopow and McNab, stare from the walls as Mounties pore over 850 files related to the case.

At least eight work exclusively on the murders.

``The toughest part is being away from home, living in a hotel all this time,'' said Const. Derwyn Lowe of the Calgary-based RCMP major-crimes south section.

Squad member Cpl. Barry Leith of the Pincher Creek detachment reached into a stuffed filing cabinet. He opens a folder as thick as the Calgary white pages.

It stems from one lead. ``It's a grinding process and all of our sympathy goes to the families. We'd like to see this come to a conclusion.''

The biggest frustration for investigators is that they have not been able to charge someone.

``Unfortunately, sometimes these investigations take time.''

But like those on his team, Kuzma believes the case can be closed.

``We do not believe this was random. We believe the murderer(s) knew the victims.''

I usually monitor the Calgary threads, but I had a little extra time today and started reading some of others.

The RCMP definitely has a POI -- and it's not a Mountie. I won't say any more because I don't know how much was ever released publicly but I know from covering the case over the years that the POI is a civilian.

I am definitely in the support of Dustin's family. Come on Calgary Police, get these men arrested that tortured this young man, what in the hell is going on here.

Regina police are the lead investigators on this case, and frankly, there isn't much for Calgary police to do.

When I poked around about the case a month ago, I certainly turned up evidence that all was NOT right with LaFortune's situation here in Calgary (see the article pasted below). However, neighbours told me LaFortune and his roommate moved out at the end of March. I'd surmise (and I've also been told by a couple of sources) that the injuries that put LaFortune in his current condition were likely inflicted in Regina -- after they left Calgary. Also FYI, their former house in Calgary was completely gutted and renovated by the landlord after they moved out, so it's unlikely it would yield any physical evidence of any value for Calgary police.

Calgarian says man assaulted by ex-roommate; Neighbours often noticed visible injuries
Calgary Herald
Tue May 18 2010
Byline: Jason Van Rassel
Source: Calgary Herald; with files from Canwest News Service and The Winnipeg Free Press

As Dustin LaFortune lies recovering from horrific injuries in a Regina hospital, former neighbours in Calgary are trying to understand how he ended up emaciated and near death.

LaFortune, 26, has told police in Regina that he was assaulted by his former roommate -- an acquaintance he worked for and shared a home with in Calgary's Highland Park neighbourhood.

The horrific details that have emerged since LaFortune was dropped off at a Regina hospital on April 16 have cast a far more ominous light on the happenings at his former home in the 4200 block of Centre Street North.

The house served as the base for a moving company owned by LaFortune's roommate, and one neighbour said it seemed the men worked -- and played -- hard.

It wasn't unusual to hear boisterous laughing coming from the back deck as the men and their friends partied after-hours, but neighbour Tannis Melville-Oberten said hindsight has shown her "there was very much a dark side."

While LaFortune's roommate was polite to a fault when dealing with neighbours -- once apologizing profusely for improperly parking a moving truck -- Melville-Oberten said she often heard profane tirades directed at his employees.

"When he wanted something done, he wanted it done right and he wanted it done yesterday," she said.

LaFortune, meanwhile, was quiet.

"They seemed as different as night and day," Melville-Oberten said.

Her last recollection of LaFortune was seeing him shovelling snow in February -- around the same time his family stopped hearing from him.

One thing that struck Melville-Oberten was LaFortune often had visible injuries.

"We would see him outside and his face would be (swollen) like a moon," she said.

Given LaFortune's job and the seemingly rough-and-tumble crowd he lived and worked with, Melville-Oberten said never occurred to her at the time he was being repeatedly beaten and abused.

"He never said 'boo.' He never said anything to me," she said.

Another neighbour said he also noticed LaFortune's injuries and once asked him about it. "He said it was a big filing cabinet that landed on his face," said the man, who didn't give his name.

LaFortune told family members a similar story when he was taken to a Calgary hospital with broken ribs in September 2009, saying a freezer had fallen onto him.

He weighed only 90 pounds when a man falsely claiming to be his cousin dropped him off at the Regina hospital.

His tongue and bottom lip were cut, his face smashed and his ribs were broken, giving him the appearance of someone who had been tortured, said his mother.

"It's something worse than a horror movie. You can't look at him," said Renee LaFortune, who lives in Victoria.

Renee said her son showed evidence of possible brain damage, struggling to follow conversations and being unable to speak. The extent of his brain injuries, if any, are not yet known.

Police in Regina are now trying to piece together what happened to LaFortune, who moved from Winnipeg to Calgary in 2008 to work for the moving company owned by his acquaintance.