Two skinheads who are believed to lead a white supremacist group in Calgary have been charged with second-degree murder in what investigators described as a random attack.
Robert David Reitmeier and Tyler William Sturrup, alleged leaders of the WEB, or Western European Bloodline, white pride group were arrested Tuesday in connection with the killing of Calgarian Mark Mariani in October 2010.
Mariani, a 47-year-old who was attacked in an alley in the 1500 block of 16th Avenue N.W., was believed to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Police said Sturrup, 26, was arrested in Edmonton and Reitmeier, 24, in Calgary on Tuesday.
Police announced Wednesday afternoon they have charged each man with second-degree murder. Both remain in custody pending a court appearance on June 8.
Earlier this month, police filmed a Crime Stoppers re-enactment of the killing and said they were searching for more witnesses.
The WEB group is one of two white supremacist movements in Calgary since the disbanding of the Aryan Guard.
Jason Devine, an anti-racist activist who monitors white supremacists online, says WEB seemed to be getting more active lately.
“They’ve been organizing. We have pictures of them with new members,” said Devine.
“They felt the Aryan Guard wasn’t hard enough, they weren’t taking the fight to coloured people and anti-racists hard enough so they wanted to do more action on the street.”
Calgary Herald
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