Charges laid in westside standoff

SUSPECT MAKES FIRST COURT APPEARANCE THURSDAY

A man charged following a standoff with police Wednesday has already made an appearance in Lethbridge provincial court.

Daniel Crowder was brought into the courtroom Thursday, where duty counsel assisted him but simply adjourned the matter until Tuesday when the accused will appear by closed-circuit TV from the Lethbridge Correctional Centre.

Crowder, who stood quietly in the prisoners’ dock during his appearance, is charged with uttering death threats, possession of body armour, breaching probation, breaching release conditions and failing to comply with court orders.

At about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, police responded to a request to check on the well-being of a man at an apartment complex along the 2500 block of Walsh Drive West as a result of concerning comments he had been making on social media.

Police attended the man’s home and attempted to make contact with him but he refused to speak to the officers, LPS said Thursday in a release. Officers then evacuated a portion of the building as a safety precaution and barricaded roads in the area.

The man continued to post concerning comments online, and members of the Lethbridge Police Critical Incident Response Team, including the Tactical Team, Explosive Disposal Unit and Crisis Negotiators, were deployed.

Officials said police made numerous unsuccessful attempts to communicate with the man throughout the afternoon, but finally shortly before 4 p.m. he began speaking with negotiators and exited his home.

He was safely taken into custody at that time, and no one was injured. The man was transported to hospital but discharged a short time later.

During a subsequent search of the apartment unit, police located body armour, which is prohibited by provincial legislation. No weapons were located.

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