Five arrested after repeated assaults on teenager

RCMP says 17-year-old was victim of serious assault

The RCMP are investigating a ‘serious assault’ they say was committed on a 17-year-old female in Yarmouth on Friday evening, Jan. 4, during which time, according to the police, the girl was driven to several locations and beaten by multiple individuals, with the assaults starting in the vehicle itself.

The girl was eventually able to flee and ran into the Your Winners World convenience store on Route 3 in Yarmouth where staff at the store was able to call 911 for help. The girl was transported to the hospital. When she entered the store just before 8 p.m. on Jan. 4, the RCMP say the injured girl was bleeding and had several injuries to her face and hands. She was screaming as she ran into the store seeking help.

The RCMP have arrested five individuals – one youth and four adults. The police describe some the adults as “young adults” with “similar ages to the victim” (some of those arrested are 19 years old). Those arrested are facing charges of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. The RCMP say the weapon was a stick.

A TARGETED INCIDENT

The RCMP say this was a targeted incident. They have made this determination based on statements and other things they’ve turned up since the Jan. 4 incident.

“We don’t want people to think that this may happen to them as well,” said Corporal Jennifer Clarke in an interview. “It’s a targeted incident and the victim and suspects do know each other. It’s related to a dispute between those parties, but not random.”

Cpl. Clarke said with head and facial injuries this was a situation that could have been even more serious.

“I don’t have the medical background to really get into that. It was very upsetting and disturbing for the staff at the convenience store where she showed up. She was in quite a state,” Cpl. Clarke said.

The Tri-County Vanguard contacted the store Monday afternoon but none of the staff that was working Friday evening was on shift at the time of our call. A manager said she was very relieved that staff was able to help the teenager and that it was very upsetting to staff at the time of the incident.

The RCMP say their investigation has determined that the victim was picked up on Cliff Street on Jan. 4 – the time was not provided – in a blue Hyundai Tucson, (a small SUV), with Nova Scotia licence plate GGA 153. The RCMP say the teenager was picked up by a female on a pretense. Three people were in the back of the vehicle unbeknownst to the victim and they started hitting her and punching her in the head.

Asked about the “pretense,” Clarke said, “I guess the gist of that would just be that she didn’t think there was any controversial reason for her to not go. She just assumed it was more of a social call.”

But a social call it wasn’t, according to details the RCMP have released.

RCMP DETAILS

According to a Jan. 7 RCMP media release, after being picked up and assaulted in the vehicle, the suspects drove to Leighton Street in Hebron where the victim was further assaulted, including being dragged out of the vehicle, thrown to the ground and kicked and punched in the head. They then went to another person’s residence on Baker Street, the media release states, and they then drove to the NSLC on Starrs Road. The victim went into the store with one of the suspects, the release reads.

Asked if the victim had tried to alert anyone inside the store that she needed help, or whether she showed signs of injury, Cpl. Clarke said, “She may have had some injuries but it’s hard to say. She was wearing, apparently, all black clothing. And we don’t know of any reason why it would have stuck out in anybody’s mind.”

Cpl. Clarke said it wasn’t known if she tried to flag anyone for assistance.

“I don’t think she was there very long,” said Cpl. Clarke, saying they included this detail as part of the media release in case anyone who was in the store might have noticed anything “that was a little bit off.”

The media release from the RCMP says everyone got back into the vehicle and drove to another location on Green Street where the assaults on the teenager continued. According to the police, the owner of a dog tried to get the dog to attack the girl.

“The suspects then poured water all over her face and down her throat. She was dragged to the car by her hair. With a total of six people in the vehicle (which includes the victim), they left that location and went to the convenience store on Hwy. 3,” the release reads. “The victim who had been between two people in the backseat, was able to flee the vehicle, run to the store and get help.”

The RCMP arrested one suspect on Friday evening. Two other females were arrested on Jan. 5 and 6. The two remaining suspects were arrested Monday morning, Jan. 7. Charges had not yet been filed with the court at the time this story was written prior to our Monday press deadline, therefore the names of those arrested/charged was not yet available. (Visit our website www. thevanguard.ca for updates.)

Asked about the duration of time the victim was with these people, Cpl. Clarke said she didn’t have an exact timeframe.

“But it certainly didn’t happen over the course of a few minutes. There are several locations and different things that happened and quite a bit of driving around to different locations, so it would have gone on for some period of time,” she said.

SEEKING PUBLIC’S HELP

The RCMP are asking for anyone who can assist with this investigation to contact them at 902-7429106. This includes providing information about the locations and times the blue Hyundai Tucson was seen in Yarmouth on Jan. 4, or any other information that might be relevant to this investigation.

“We’re hoping if people saw some of the incidents, as terrifying as they may have been, rest assured we do have five people arrested,” said Cpl. Clarke. She said the police are still trying to piece together all that took place and are looking for the public’s help.

“They were several different locations, it’s quite a story to untangle,” she said. “And I don’t use the word story because there’s any lack of validity to it, it’s just simply . . . if there is a way to corroborate information that we’ve released we would appreciate it.”

Asked if it is possible other locations had also been visited, Cpl. Clarke said, “anything is possible with something like this. We feel like we’ve got things fairly clear, but again if anyone has information, like if they saw something happening, or maybe something that didn’t look quite right, we would encourage them to call us.”

Should people wish to remain anonymous, they can call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips App.