RCMP have identified the two suspects arrested in connection with the death of 26 year old RCMP Constable Shelby Patton.
The six year member of the force died after pulling over an allegedly stolen truck around eight o’clock Saturday morning in the town of Wolseley, east of Regina.
In a news conference Saturday afternoon, Saskatchewan assistant RCMP Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore says Patton, who was alone, stopped two suspects in a truck believed to have been stolen in Manitoba.
As Patton approached the vehicle, it allegedly took off striking and killing him. The truck and its two occupants, a man and a woman, were found a couple of hours later a short distance away near the town of Francis.
Patton, had been a member of the Indian Head Detachment since 2015. He leaves behind a wife.
An emotional Blackmore described Patton as hardworking and dedicated.” She said in speaking with his detachment commander on Saturday. She was told if you wanted to create the ideal RCMP member, you would clone Shelby Patton.
41 year old Alphonse Stanley Traverse, and 42 year old Marlene Velma Louise Pagee, both of Winnipeg, face numerous charges including Manslaughter, Failure to Stop after an Accident Resulting in Death and Possession of Stolen Property. Both are to appear in Regina Provincial Court Monday.
Flags will fly at half-mast at every RCMP detachment across the province until sunset on the day of the funeral. Information on that funeral is not known at this time.
The last time an RCMP officer died in Saskatchewan while on-duty was in 2012.
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