Three British Columbia men and one Yukon man are being sought after Whitehorse RCMP issued arrest warrants Thursday in connection with last month’s Dustball dance fights.
Whitehorse resident Michael Brereton, 22, is charged with assault causing bodily harm.
Brereton is Caucasian, five-feet, six-inches tall and 170 pounds, with blue eyes and short blond hair, and responds to the name “Nick.”
Kevin Smith, 21, of Surrey BC, is charged with assault, aggravated assault and two counts of assault causing bodily harm.
Smith is Caucasian, six-feet tall, weighs about 170 pounds and has brown eyes and cropped brown hair. He is known to use the nickname “Connor.”
Jesse Ritchie, 27, from Surrey, is charged with aggravated assault and two counts of assault causing bodily harm.
Ritchie is Caucasian, five-feet, eight-inches tall, weighs about 264 pounds and has hazel eyes. He is known to use the name “Dillan.”
Calvin Hayes, 27, also from Surrey, is charged with aggravated assault and two counts of assault causing bodily harm.
Hayes is black with brown eyes and black hair; he is heavily built and is known to go by the nickname “Tyson.”
All four are at large and their whereabouts are unknown at the moment, said Whitehorse RCMP media spokesperson, Sgt. Ross Milward.
“We’re looking for them and we have arrest warrants for them, but I can’t confirm whether they’re here or back in British Columbia,” said Milward, in an interview Friday.
RCMP in Alberta and BC have not been notified, but the warrant could extend to those areas in the future, said Milward.
A fifth man charged, 21-year-old Clinton Derkson of Surrey, BC, is in custody, and scheduled to appear in court Friday in Whitehorse.
An investigation has determined the group was involved in varying roles in four separate assaults at the dance, said Milward.
The cause of the fights was likely alcohol, “and tough guys flexing their muscles,” he said.
“Somebody looks at them wrong; they sucker punch people. There appears to be no real motivation,” he said.
Two other Surrey BC men, Kelly Auclair and Jeffery Redick, were charged with assault causing bodily harm after a fifth assault at the dance.
They were arrested at the scene and later released, after setting a date for their trials.
Though the initial two arrests left people fearing that other guilty parties had escaped uncharged, RCMP have been working hard on the case since the dance, said Milward.
“We assigned two members to this full-time. It’s one of those situations where you interview one person and he mentions two or three other people who may have witnessed it,” said Milward.
“We’re still actively trying to track more people down and obtain more statements to enhance our evidence.
“There could be further charges, but at this point in time it doesn’t appear to be that way.”
The specific injuries of the victims of the violence cannot be released, said Milward.
“But when aggravated assault charges are laid, there are serious injuries involved,” he said.
None of the charges are connected to drugs whatsoever, added Milward.
People are warned not to approach any of the wanted men but to contact police instead.