2 men charged after RCMP search house connected to fatal Gleichen police shooting

Two men have been charged with firearm and drug-related offences after Alberta RCMP searched a home in Gleichen and found weapons, ammunition, an explosive device, drugs and gun parts. The charges were laid one week after a man was shot to death by police outside the same home.

RCMP said officers responded to a 911 call from a citizen who reported they were following a vehicle they believed was involved in thefts from a rural property in the Bassano detachment area at about 5 p.m. on Oct. 20.

“The caller reported that the occupants of the truck had pointed a firearm at them in an attempt to get away,” RCMP said in a Thursday release.

The suspect vehicle was found heading west on Highway 1 and the two Gleichen residents in the car were arrested without incident.

“Investigators then traced back the route travelled by the suspect truck and located a loaded semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun in a farmer’s field where the truck had been stopped,” RCMP said.

The suspect’s Haskayne Avenue home in Gleichen was searched to try to recover property the original caller believed was stolen.

Gleichen resident Gary Donald Tracy, 49, faces various firearm and drug-related charges.

A man was shot to death by RCMP officers on Haskayne Avenue on Oct. 19 at about 4 a.m. during a traffic stop. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said the 26-year-old Morley resident had a weapon “made to resemble a shotgun-type firearm” at the time.

Tracy has been remanded into custody and is set to appear on Oct. 26 in Siksika Provincial Court.

RCMP said the second suspect was released from custody with a promise to appear and charges of dangerous driving, drive while disqualified and possession of a controlled substance are pending.

The second suspect is set to appear in court Nov. 23 in Siksika Provincial Court.

The hamlet of Gleichen is located about 80 kilometres east of Calgary.