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A violent, high-risk offender known to conceal weapons in his prosthetic leg is free from behind bars as of Wednesday and plans to live in Edmonton, warn RCMP.
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Police are issuing the alert about Lorne Papastesis, 41, “in the belief that it is clearly in the public interest to inform the members of the community of the release of Papastesis. The RCMP believes that there is a risk of significant harm to the health and safety of the public,” said RCMP spokesman Fraser Logan in a Wednesday news release.
Papastesis has been convicted of multiple offences including assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, aggravated assault, forcible confinement, carrying a concealed weapon, and possessing a weapon dangerous to the public peace.
“Papastesis has severe mental health concerns and often appears in a delusional state. He has been known to conceal weapons in his prosthetic leg and exhibit unpredictable violence towards strangers,” said Logan, in the release.
RCMP made an application to the Courts to have Papastesis bound by conditions upon his release to assist with his reintegration back into the community and for public safety.
This is the fourth warning about Papastesis from police authorities since 2005 when he had just completed a two-year sentence for assault causing bodily harm and had been previously convicted twice of assault. Papastesis escaped Alberta Hospital in May 2006, triggering another warning. The last warning was from Edmonton city police in 2012 when he was released from prison.
