CALGARY – A man with a history of animal and property complaints lodged against him has now been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a rural peace officer southwest of Calgary.
Trevor Kloschinsky, 46, was escorted in handcuffs early Saturday morning from a Calgary police station, charged and brought to the remand centre.
While police say they are not looking for any other suspects, investigators are combing the man’s rented ranch in Priddis, which is believed to be the scene of the crime, and interviewing potential witnesses.
Police confirmed the victim, Municipal District of Foothills officer Rod Lazenby, was investigating an animal call regarding the numerous dogs at Kloschinsky’s rental property at the Tangled Spur Ranch.
Though the suspect was known to police, he did not have a criminal record.
Kloschinsky is alleged to have severely beaten Lazenby and then driven him to a south Calgary police station. Lazenby was rushed to hospital but could not be saved.
Lazenby was a retired RCMP officer with over 35 years of service on the force, mostly in British Columbia. He retired on a full pension in 2006 and leaves behind a wife and daughter.
Insp. Garrett Woolsey said the death affects law enforcement officers everywhere.
“You never know where and when something like this just might happen. Each and every one of us go to work every day knowing that. Our families know that,” said Woolsey.
“In this case, the ultimate tragedy has occurred. Really, just imagine this: this, as far as we know, was around a dog complaint and now this has occurred. This is an emotional time for everyone across Alberta,” he said.
An autopsy will be conducted Monday.
Neighbours who live near the Priddis home that Kloschinsky rented say he kept over 30 blue heeler dogs on site and received regular visits from peace officers over the issue.
The animals were kept in a Quonset near a handful of beat-up cars.
Before moving to the property just north of Priddis, Kloschinsky lived on another rural home near Turner Valley that was shut down as uninhabitable by Alberta Health Services in 2009.
The 20 violations cited by AHS on the property included a lack of potable water, exposed electrical outlets, a large gap in the front door, cracked walls, mouse droppings, flies throughout the home, ripped linoleum in the kitchen, an unsecured septic tank lid and mould in the bedroom, laundry room and living room.
His former landlord, Wayne Ryder, said he had to go to court to have Kloschinsky evicted from the acreage west of Turner Valley after neighbours complained of dogs barking at all hours.
Ryder said he got a call from the municipality and peace officer about the problem, and finally got Kloschinsky out in October 2009.
“My place was the first place,” Ryder said. “That’s when he decided to start raising dogs. He was going to make millions of dollars doing it.”
Amber Kerr, a manager at the Priddis Cafe and Grill, said the man who other customers told her lived on the Priddis property was a bit of a problem at the business earlier this year.
“He used to come in the cafe sometimes and use the phone and would absolutely scream at the (municipal district) about his dogs,” said Kerr.
Peace officers with the Foothills district do not carry guns, but are armed with pepper spray and a baton.
The Alberta SPCA said on Saturday they are aware of complaints calls made about the Priddis area property in June and again in July. Its officers did not have any direct involvement with Kloschinsky or the dogs and said the M.D. of Foothills peace officers were handling the file.
“I don’t know what the complaint was that they were investigating,” said Alberta SPCA spokesman Roland Lines
“They were just giving us a heads-up that there were dogs involved and so if they found welfare issues, mistreatment or distress among the dogs, that they would be asking us for help, but they didn’t ask us for help.”
No funeral plans have been made for Lazenby.
RCMP said it will be up to the family to decide if they want a ceremonial funeral or a private memorial event.
He will not be remembered as a fallen RCMP officer, but rather as a fallen peace officer, said RCMP.
“I have talked to a number of officers who did work with Rod personally over the years and they are absolutely devastated by this,” said Woolsey.
Lazenby came to Alberta for retirement.
“As many RCMP members do, they love law enforcement and they like to stay engaged, so they find something in retirement that gives them a continuation of that life,” said Woolsey.
No decisions on the fate of the approximately 30 dogs have yet been made, but they are being fed and watered as police conduct their investigation.
Another dog breeder in the Priddis area said she was surprised to hear there were so many animals on site.
Deanne Warholm breeds German shepherd dogs in Priddis and said she can’t imagine caring for that many animals.
“Why would you have 30 dogs? I have no clue, unless you’re a hoarder,” Warholm said.
“I have no idea why you would have 30 dogs. That’s a lot of animals to take care of, health-wise, physically, emotionally and just feeding them. I have four and the bags of food that I go through are immense. I can only imagine what you’re feeding 30 of them.”
Warholm said while animals are cute and “can steal your heart,” they need a lot of attention and expenses, including food, and veterinarian bills can add up quickly.
“You can spend yourself into oblivion very quickly on animals,” she said.
The SPCA doesn’t know if it will take possession of the animals or if someone else will.
“We’re still assessing the situation with the dogs,” said Lines.
With files from Richard Cuthbertson and Annalise Klingbeil, Calgary Herald
and The Canadian Press
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