Edmonton – Canada-wide warrants have been issued for the arrest of an Alberta man in connection to a south Edmonton homicide.
Edmonton homicide detectives believe 23-year-old Justin Kenneth Sandquist is responsible for killing 25-year-old Aaron Cote in the Travelodge parking lot near Gateway Boulevard and 45 Avenue in the early morning of December 18.
Sandquist is facing charges of first degree murder, possession of an offensive weapon and criminal hit and run.
Police believe Sandquist was driving a white Ford truck on December 18, when he hit a friend of Cote’s who was outside Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club.
Police allege, while inside of the truck, Sandquist followed Cote and his friend as the pair ran towards the Travelodge hotel.
“They were confronted by Mr. Sandquist who exited that vehicle and we believe stabbed our victim,” explains Staff Sgt. Bill Clark, Edmonton Police Service Homicide Section.
Cote died from stab wounds.
Witnesses told investigators a fight broke out between several men in the Travelodge parking lot.
- B.C. Sikh leader ‘vindicated’ by arrest of Indian nationals in Nijjar killing
- How toy guns brandished by Ontario youth in ‘assassins game’ is prompting real fear
- Trump trial hears recording discussing hush money scheme: ‘What do we got to pay?’
- London Drugs remains closed, says it is reviewing billions of lines of data
“There was some words exchanged or a little bit of an altercation outside the bar, and we believe that led to this incident,” states Staff Sgt. Clark.
Investigators say there were other people in the truck at the time of the stabbing and police are looking for those individuals as well.
Investigators have also looked at security video of the incident from the Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club – which the parties had allegedly attended – as well as the Travelodge hotel.
“It’s pretty good video. I mean, obviously we’ll be saving that and show it in court,” says Staff Sgt. Clark.
Investigators have charged Sandquist with first degree murder because they believe there was planning involved in the crime.
“Our facts are that we believe that Mr. Sandquist could have at any time stopped his actions but he continued to pursue the victim,” explains Staff Sgt. Clark. “Based on the circumstances that we’ve been described by witnesses and the evidence we found, we’ve briefed the Crown and they agree that first degree murder charges are appropriate in this case.”
Investigators believe Sandquist is from the Edmonton area but has ties to Grande Prairie and High Prairie.
Police received information that Sandquist was in the Grande Prairie area late last week, but say they don’t know where the suspect is now.
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is asking anyone with information about Sanquist’s whereabouts to contact (EPS) at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone.
Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
Comments