The man accused of killing a security guard inside a central Edmonton apartment building last week has an extensive criminal history of violent crimes dating back more than a decade.
Harshandeep Singh, 20, who had been on the job only three days, was gunned down early Dec. 6 while patrolling a building in the Central McDougall neighbourhood.
Surveillance videos circulating online appear to show the moments leading up the shooting: a man in a yellow security jacket is shoved into a stairwell, then shot in the back.
Evan Chase Rain, 30, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Singh’s killing alongside Judith Saulteaux, who is facing the same charge.
Court records show Rain has a violent history.
Parole documents obtained by CBC detail Rain’s troubled history and track his movements through the federal corrections system following his conviction on a string of charges related to an altercation with Edmonton police in June 2019.
The documents detail some of Rain’s previous crimes and paint a picture of a repeat offender with a propensity for violence.
Rain’s previous crimes include kidnapping, assault and carrying a sawed-off shotgun during a high-speed chase with police.
The parole board found that Rain lived a life of crime, with his deep-seated addictions fuelling a string of violent and impulsive acts.
“You have a lengthy and versatile criminal history involving weapons, violence, property, substance abuse, and breach of trust offences most often committed while under the influence of either drugs and or alcohol,” parole board member Marilyn Kenny wrote in a decision dated April 2023.
“You have shown you are willing to use violence with and without weapons.”
According to the documents, Rain was on court-imposed conditions in June 2019 when he led officers and a police helicopter in a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle. Following his arrest, officers discovered a bag loaded with a sawed-off shotgun, ammunition and methamphetamine.
Rain pleaded guilty and was handed a sentence of more than three years and two months, and a lifetime prohibition banning him from owning firearms.
‘Impulsive in nature’
As Rain served federal time for the police chase, he picked up additional charges for assaulting fellow inmates, and for an attempted carjacking.
In January 2021, he punched another inmate in the face while the other man was using a prison phone, breaking the man’s nose.
In February 2021, he punched another inmate in the head and stabbed him with a prison-made blade five times in the back and arms. The man escaped the attack without major injury.
Rain’s adult criminal history began in 2012 and includes previous convictions for drugs, failing to comply with court orders, impaired driving and uttering threats.
The documents detail how Rain kidnapped a woman in July 2018. He put her in the trunk of a vehicle after using zip ties and tape to constrain her. The woman escaped when Rain was stopped at a car wash in Wetaskiwin, Alta.
Parole officials noted that Rain appeared unwilling to accept responsibility for his crimes or participate in programs aimed at rehabilitation.
“You demonstrate a pattern of propensity for violence since 2010, to deal with interpersonal issues and many are impulsive in nature,” parole board officials wrote. “[Your record] speaks to your inability to control your anger.”
Singh, from India, was a student at Edmonton’s NorQuest College. He had only been on the job three days before he was killed. (Gagandeep Singh Ghuman/GoFundme)
Rain, who is Indigenous, had a chaotic and dysfunctional upbringing, according to parole board officials. His childhood was marred by generational trauma, all forms of abuse and addiction in the home, the parole board found.
His childhood trauma left him struggling with addictions and anti-social behaviour and drew him into a criminal lifestyle.
Rain began abusing hard drugs and alcohol at a young age. He became involved with street gangs as a teen and began trafficking drugs at 16, the parole board found.
At the time of his arrest in 2019, he was using meth and fentanyl daily. He reported having little contact with his two children and having grown violent with his partner.
Rain claimed that his time with street gangs was over but continued to show affiliation tattoos and was caught attempting to recruit other offenders during his time in maximum security.
During his time in the federal correctional system, his release into the community was repeatedly revoked.
He was first released in March 2022 but was caught using meth at his halfway house, drugs he had bought while out attending a narcotics treatment meeting.
In December 2022, warrants were again issued for Rain’s arrest after he snuck out from his court-imposed halfway house past curfew and fled to Saskatchewan.
He was arrested weeks later while attempting to steal a stolen vehicle. Officers had located Rain standing near a vehicle in the ditch. He and an accomplice, both armed, were attempting to carjack a passing driver, according to the parole board documents.
“Your last release lasted a few days before you made the choice to go unlawfully at large, use drugs and incur further charges,” Kenny wrote.
“You had a condition that required you to reside at a community residential facility or correctional facility given you are a high-risk high needs offender with a significant history of offending that includes violence and weapons.
“You have yet to mitigate the risk you pose in society by completing programs or gaining stability and credibility in the community.”
‘Untreated violent offender’
In its most recent decision, the parole board expressed its concern over the risk Rain could pose to the community.
However, due to the legislation surrounding statutory release for federal offenders, the board said it had little choice but to release him — albeit on strict conditions.
“According to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, you will be released again on statutory release, subject to supervision, until the expiration of your sentence according to law,” board member Marilyn Kenny told Rain in the April 6, 2023, decision.
Rain was released on a series of conditions, including that he live in a designated halfway house, that he not consume alcohol or drugs, and that he avoid interacting with criminals.
Rain repeatedly blamed his circumstances in Edmonton for bringing him back to a life of crime, saying that “any other release destination would be better” and that he “wanted a fresh start” somewhere outside Alberta, the documents said.
“You are an untreated violent offender,” parole board officials wrote in 2022. “You are a maximum security offender with low reintegration potential and a high risk to public safety.”
WATCH | Guard killed at Edmonton apartment building:
Court records show the 30-year-old Saulteaux also has an extensive criminal history with convictions for aggravated assault, robbery and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public.
Rain and Saulteaux remain in custody awaiting their next court appearance in January.
Singh’s death has raised questions about the kind of training he received and the safety of Alberta’s private security guard sector.
A family spokesperson said Singh, a student from India enrolled at Edmonton’s NorQuest College, had only been on the job three days before he was shot.
A series of community memorials have been held in Singh’s honour. A funeral, including an honour guard ceremony, is planned in Edmonton for Sunday.