A 20-year-old man charged in a serious stabbing over the weekend shouldn't have been out on city streets because police reveal he was under house arrest at the time.
Around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, officers arrived at a house party at the McLeod Building, located at 100th Street and Jasper Avenue, to find the host of the party – a man believed to be in his early 20s – with a stab wound to the neck.
Blair Grieco, who was covered head-to-toe in blood, was arrested shortly afterward.
Police say the 20-year-old was already under house arrest for a previous offence, which he breached in order to attend the party.
"It's always frustrating when we have to re-arrest people," said Staff Sgt. Regan James with the Edmonton Police Service. "House arrest or conditional sentence orders -- they are weak. There is only so much we can do as a police agency or as a probation agency to ensure those individuals are in fact in their residence where they are supposed to be."
A local member of parliament is now weighing in on the crime. Laurie Hawn, the Minister of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, says a proposed law eliminating house arrest and conditional sentences for violent and repeat offenders must be passed.
"That is the kind of individual who should not be able to live in his own home and be able to associate with other people," said Hawn. "[It] just makes no sense at all – this bill will correct that."
Police believe the fight broke out after Grieco brought his dog to the party.
The victim remains in serious but stable condition in hospital after undergoing surgery.
Grieco was slated to appear in court Monday, answering to charges of aggravated assault, possession of a weapon and breach of house arrest.
