Man badly beaten in Rhein home invasion

A horrifying home invasion in the small community of Rhein sent a man to hospital and devastated his family.

David Brock Alcorn told CBC Saskatchewan that three men barged into his home, demanded the combination to his safe and left him badly beaten and ducttaped in his bathtub after the attack, which took place on May 30 shortly after 1:30 a.m.

RCMP say the masked individuals entered the home with weapons, making off with two firearms and a “large sum of cash.”

David’s mother, Tracey, said her family didn’t want to comment further on the incident, describing the attack as “terrifying.” She declined to provide any further information about David’s condition, but a post on her Facebook page indicated her son is thankful for messages of support and kind words.

“I just want to remind everyone that the Yorkton RCMP are working very hard on my case and we are very grateful for their work!” said the post, which indicates it’s from David himself.

Tracey said on Friday that RCMP have “been absolutely wonderful” in their handling of the investigation. She also noted her son’s business, Chronixx Herb and Hemp Shop, won’t be affected by the robbery.

David told CBC the thieves made off with $20,000 he had been saving from the Yorkton-area business.

Chronixx, according to its Facebook page, is a “locally-owned store providing the best selection of legal herb accessories in the area.”

A later post indicates the location also applied to receive one of the province’s 51 cannabis retail store permits.

However, it was not present on a list of permit winners issued by the province on Friday.

While a Facebook message from Chronixx indicated the store has “never sold any products containing CBD or THC,” some of the active ingredients in cannabis, some posts on the store’s Facebook page advertise pipes usually used for smoking marijuana concentrates.

David Deswiage, a Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker with Prairie Dispensary Insurance, said many marijuana-related businesses — including bong shops, vape shops and dispensaries — are facing challenges in securing commercial banking services due to the nature of the industry.

“Cannabusiness is in a period of transition right now and the banks are not a fan of this business,” Deswiage said.

“The problem with that is that this is the end result; you start to see people squirrelling money away, in their safe, under their mattress, in a tin can buried in the backyard.”

Deswiage said cannabis is a cashheavy industry, as many people don’t want transactions at the shops showing up on their bank or credit card statements.

“There’s a negative connotation

You start to see people squirrelling money away, in their safe, under their mattress, in a tin can buried in the backyard.

to it still,” he said. “We’re in a fastdeveloping transitional stage right now, where we’re going from black market, to grey market, to white, legal enterprise ... And because we’re still in that grey area, everybody pays cash.”

RCMP are asking for the public’s help locating any suspicious vehicles that were in the Rhein area on the night of the home invasion.