Posted:
(11 a.m.)
Today, HRM Partners in Policing held a news conference to announce charges in connection with the investigation into a murder on Clifton Street last month in Halifax. The following are the speaking notes from Deputy Chief Bill Moore, Halifax Regional Police and Chief Superintendent Jean Michel Blais, Halifax District RCMP.
Deputy Chief Bill Moore, Halifax Regional Police:
Today we are announcing that members of the HRP/RCMP Integrated Major Crime Unit have charged two people in connection with the homicide of Corey Duane Lucas and the attempt murder of a 31-year-old man who were both shot inside an apartment on Clifton Street on May 25, 2012.
Twenty-year-old Dylan Peter Roach of Halifax was arrested last Wednesday, June 20 at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Burnside where he is incarcerated on another matter. He was brought to Police Headquarters for questioning and returned the Burnside facility the following day. He is scheduled to appear in Halifax Provincial Court tomorrow to face charges of first degree murder.
Twenty-seven-year-old Jenna Karlene Piercy of Prospect was arrested without incident at 8:20 a.m. on Friday, June 22 in Fall River. She was questioned by investigators and charged with accessory after the fact in connection with the homicide. She was also charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking in relation to the search conducted on May 28 at a residence on Kelly Point Road in Prospect. She was remanded to the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility and is scheduled to appear in Halifax Provincial Court today.
The charges we are announcing today are the result of an extensive police investigation that utilized a wide range of resources from HRP and the RCMP. On behalf of both Halifax Regional Police and RCMP, Chief Superintendent Blais and I would like to take this opportunity to publically thank everyone involved in bringing this investigation to this critical point.
Chief Superintendent Jean-Michel Blais, RCMP:
We would also like to take this opportunity to encourage members of the public to help us move these types of investigations forward. I am talking about the people who are tired of dealing with the drug issues in their communities and the associated violence that follows. We know that by working together, we can make our communities safer for everyone.
What happened to Corey Lucas should not happen to anyone, and when a member of our community is killed as a result of violence, it affects us all. It affects how we view and how we feel about where we live. This is why we as police will continue to do all we can to bring those responsible for the drugs and violence plaguing our community to justice. This is why we will continue to work with partner organizations and members of the public to not only solve these investigations when they do happen, but to put programs and services in place that will help loosen the grip drugs and violence has on some parts of Halifax Regional Municipality.
Much of the violence we are seeing in HRM is the result of competing street-level drug dealers who are using firearms more aggressively and violently then in the past to settle their disputes. While many people turn a blind eye to drug activity, the reality is that with drugs comes violence and this case is an unfortunate reminder of that. We urge residents to report illicit drug activity to police or to the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Public Safety Investigation Section so steps can be taken to hopefully prevent incidents like this.
HRM Partners in Policing, the Halifax Regional Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, are committed to doing everything we can to address this problem. We will continue to investigate these crimes to the fullest possible extent. We will continue to target those involved and we will not tolerate the activities of small groups of individuals who knowingly and willingly engage in violence in our community. We will ensure that in the HRM, that those people who use weapons to settle scores and who demonstrate their self-perceived sense of power through gun violence are not welcome in our community.