Jonny Wakefield
@jonnywakefield.bsky.social
Edmonton Journal/Sun reporter on the justice beat, covering courts, crime, policing and corrections. American who moved to Canada, stray cat re-homer and (hopefully not totally insufferable) distance runner.
Pinned
Jeff Kent is a serial conman who defrauds women. Does he deserve the harshest punishment in Canadian criminal law?
Jeff Kent is a romance fraudster who bilks women out of their life savings. An Alberta judge just deemed him a dangerous offender.
edmontonjournal.com
My latest long read: Jeff Kent is a serial conman who bilks vulnerable women out of their money. He’s the first fraudster in Canadian history to be deemed a dangerous offender and locked up indefinitely.
He’s also someone who used to regularly call me from jail
edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/j...
He’s also someone who used to regularly call me from jail
edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/j...
Great moments in "pivot to affordability"
January 3, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Great moments in "pivot to affordability"
Better later than never: my 2025 book stack. Gonna try something new: going back to pages I dog-eared for one reason or another and sharing the interesting bits
January 1, 2026 at 12:03 AM
Better later than never: my 2025 book stack. Gonna try something new: going back to pages I dog-eared for one reason or another and sharing the interesting bits
Breaking from @stephenraitz.bsky.social: Rosie’s, the Whyte Ave karaoke institution, is under new ownership and rebranding as “Chiers,” an apparent portmanteau for “Chicken and Beers” www.instagram.com/reel/DS3hkVb...
Stephen Raitz on Instagram: "Part 2 of Rosie’s Karaoke update. @chiersedmonton has soft launched and it’s the new Rosie’s. Please put a hold in your calendar for every weekend of 2026."
Rosie's Karaoke, a beloved spot for weekend nights out, has undergone a transformation. The new ownership has brought a fresh look and feel to the establishment, while maintaining its commitment to pr...
www.instagram.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Breaking from @stephenraitz.bsky.social: Rosie’s, the Whyte Ave karaoke institution, is under new ownership and rebranding as “Chiers,” an apparent portmanteau for “Chicken and Beers” www.instagram.com/reel/DS3hkVb...
Edmontonians: is there any reason to get a roof rake to clear off some of this snow? Older house with a recently redone roof and gutters, but there’s just a ton of snow up there and it makes me nervous for ice dams.
December 29, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Edmontonians: is there any reason to get a roof rake to clear off some of this snow? Older house with a recently redone roof and gutters, but there’s just a ton of snow up there and it makes me nervous for ice dams.
News: Prashanth Sreekumar died in an Edmonton hospital eight hours after he arrived with severe chest pains. An ER doctor and longtime Alberta political figure says his case illustrates the dire state of Alberta's emergency departments. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
A man died after waiting 8 hours in an Edmonton ER. How did the system get here?
The death of a man who spent hours in an Edmonton ER is an illustration of the dire state of Alberta's health care system, a physician says.
edmontonjournal.com
December 28, 2025 at 9:26 PM
News: Prashanth Sreekumar died in an Edmonton hospital eight hours after he arrived with severe chest pains. An ER doctor and longtime Alberta political figure says his case illustrates the dire state of Alberta's emergency departments. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Edmonton has had 32 traffic fatalities in 2025, tying a 10-year high. A lot of blame is being levelled at the province for removing photo radar, but according to Paths for People, none of the 11 pedestrian fatalities, at least, had anything to do with speed. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
'Egregious speeds': Edmonton's new police chief confronts a brutal year on the roads
As of Friday, 32 people have died in collisions on Edmonton roads in 2025. Tickets for speeding are up, as are charges for impaired driving.
edmontonjournal.com
December 27, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Edmonton has had 32 traffic fatalities in 2025, tying a 10-year high. A lot of blame is being levelled at the province for removing photo radar, but according to Paths for People, none of the 11 pedestrian fatalities, at least, had anything to do with speed. edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Spent a decent portion of Christmas fuming at Richard II for being an absolute clod. Irredeemable. Terrible king.
December 26, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Spent a decent portion of Christmas fuming at Richard II for being an absolute clod. Irredeemable. Terrible king.
Watching an nba broadcast and it turns out I am still capable of being shocked by the quantity of sports betting ads!
December 25, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Watching an nba broadcast and it turns out I am still capable of being shocked by the quantity of sports betting ads!
Annual reminder that the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album is the only Christmas album that will make you want to run through a damn WALL www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDMs...
Mannheim Steamroller - Good King Wenceslas (Audio)
YouTube video by MannheimSteamVEVO
www.youtube.com
December 24, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Annual reminder that the Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album is the only Christmas album that will make you want to run through a damn WALL www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDMs...
News from the last court sitting of 2025: a 22-year-old who shot up a house as part of a sprawling extortion plot targeting Edmonton’s Indo-Canadian community will likely be deported to a country he left as a child after finishing his sentence edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Project Gaslight member who shot up house, pointed gun at cop likely to be deported after 7-1/2 year sentence: lawyer
A man who shot up the house of an Indo-Canadian homebuilder while a police officer was inside will likely face deportation after his sentence.
edmontonjournal.com
December 24, 2025 at 2:17 AM
News from the last court sitting of 2025: a 22-year-old who shot up a house as part of a sprawling extortion plot targeting Edmonton’s Indo-Canadian community will likely be deported to a country he left as a child after finishing his sentence edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
The shots of Rogers Place from the north side will never not confuse me
December 24, 2025 at 2:12 AM
The shots of Rogers Place from the north side will never not confuse me
Bonkers story from @matthewblack.ca: Lawyers for a former AHS board member claim a self-described political fixer, along with an indy publisher, have been paid to smear their client in an effort to discredit & dissuade him from testifying in the wrongful dismissal suit from the agency’s former CEO.
Former AHS board member claims podcasters paid to smear him ahead of Mentzelopoulos testimony
Lawyers for a former Alberta Health Services board member claim a political fixer and a publisher have been paid to smear their client.
edmontonjournal.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Bonkers story from @matthewblack.ca: Lawyers for a former AHS board member claim a self-described political fixer, along with an indy publisher, have been paid to smear their client in an effort to discredit & dissuade him from testifying in the wrongful dismissal suit from the agency’s former CEO.
Sharing again so I can get more "really how is this news I stand with Mark Carney!" replies
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s directive to prioritise British over Canadian spelling in government communications has catalysed Canadian linguists to organise a protest
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Canadian linguists ask prime minister to stop spelling like a Brit
After a plethora of British spellings emerged in the government’s budget, academics and editors urged him to utilize, not utilise, Canadian English.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Sharing again so I can get more "really how is this news I stand with Mark Carney!" replies
New from me: On New Year's Eve 2015, two men were arrested in connection with what was then Edmonton's largest fentanyl seizure.
They were finally sentenced yesterday after a 10-year delay. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/t...
They were finally sentenced yesterday after a 10-year delay. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/t...
Two men were charged in one of Edmonton's first major fentanyl busts. A decade later, they've finally been sentenced
In January 2016, Edmonton police called local media to the atrium of the downtown headquarters to show off a then-unique drug bust. Arranged on a table for the cameras was a colourful collection of pi...
edmontonjournal.com
December 23, 2025 at 6:41 PM
New from me: On New Year's Eve 2015, two men were arrested in connection with what was then Edmonton's largest fentanyl seizure.
They were finally sentenced yesterday after a 10-year delay. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/t...
They were finally sentenced yesterday after a 10-year delay. edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/t...
News: an Edmonton police officer has been acquitted of assaulting an Indigenous man who claims he stopped to help at a traffic accident and walked into the middle of stolen catalytic converter investigation. Third EPS assault acquittal this year that I know of edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/j...
Judge acquits Edmonton police officer of assaulting man during Whitemud Drive arrest
An Edmonton police officer accused of using excessive force against a man during an arrest has been found not guilty.
edmontonjournal.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:05 PM
News: an Edmonton police officer has been acquitted of assaulting an Indigenous man who claims he stopped to help at a traffic accident and walked into the middle of stolen catalytic converter investigation. Third EPS assault acquittal this year that I know of edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/j...
Why did he have to call it the Defiant 😭
Trump Class battleship illustration, as released by the White House.
December 23, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Why did he have to call it the Defiant 😭
From court yesterday: a man who set fire to half a dozen homes in Edmonton’s Alberta Ave neighbourhood at the behest of late landlord/alleged drug dealer Abdullah Shah/Carmen Pervez has been sentenced to 12 years in prison edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/d...
12 years in prison for arsonist who torched homes in Edmonton's Alberta Avenue neighbourhood
An arsonist-for-hire who made a central Edmonton neighbourhood feel like "a war zone" has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
edmontonjournal.com
December 20, 2025 at 4:57 PM
From court yesterday: a man who set fire to half a dozen homes in Edmonton’s Alberta Ave neighbourhood at the behest of late landlord/alleged drug dealer Abdullah Shah/Carmen Pervez has been sentenced to 12 years in prison edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/d...
Former Liberal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault gets default judgment in suit against ex-business partner
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Former Liberal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault gets default judgment in suit against ex-business partner
Former Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault claimed Stephen Anderson made a series of false claims that impacted his reputation.
edmontonjournal.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Former Liberal cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault gets default judgment in suit against ex-business partner
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
New from me: I asked Edmonton’s new police chief about photos obtained by @carrietait.bsky.social et al of his predecessor, Dale McFee, at Oilers playoff games with Sam Mraiche/government ministers edmontonjournal.com/news/dale-mc...
Edmonton police chief says policy changed since McFee's Oilers game attendance in businessman's box
Edmonton's new police chief says the service has revised its gifts policy since his predecessor's attendance at Oilers games in a businessman's private box.
edmontonjournal.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:29 PM
New from me: I asked Edmonton’s new police chief about photos obtained by @carrietait.bsky.social et al of his predecessor, Dale McFee, at Oilers playoff games with Sam Mraiche/government ministers edmontonjournal.com/news/dale-mc...
Cool new program from @cajournalists.bsky.social that connects Canadian journalists with pro bono legal counsel. There is nothing quite so reassuring as having a story lawyered caj.ca/launch-of-la...
Launch of Lawyers for Reporters is a vital step forward in strengthening press freedom in Canada - Canadian Association of Journalists
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), the University of King’s College and the Canadian Media Lawyers Association (CMLA) are joining forces to launch Lawyers for Reporters Canada, an initiati...
caj.ca
December 18, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Cool new program from @cajournalists.bsky.social that connects Canadian journalists with pro bono legal counsel. There is nothing quite so reassuring as having a story lawyered caj.ca/launch-of-la...
Big "Edmonton is Fine!" energy
My biggest takeaway from today's Statistics Canada population release.
December 18, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Big "Edmonton is Fine!" energy
Reposted by Jonny Wakefield
My biggest takeaway from today's Statistics Canada population release.
December 17, 2025 at 6:38 PM
My biggest takeaway from today's Statistics Canada population release.
For the lunch crowd.
New from me: I asked Edmonton’s new police chief about photos obtained by @carrietait.bsky.social et al of his predecessor, Dale McFee, at Oilers playoff games with Sam Mraiche/government ministers edmontonjournal.com/news/dale-mc...
Edmonton police chief says policy changed since McFee's Oilers game attendance in businessman's box
Edmonton's new police chief says the service has revised its gifts policy since his predecessor's attendance at Oilers games in a businessman's private box.
edmontonjournal.com
December 18, 2025 at 7:07 PM
For the lunch crowd.
When the bridge hits mid celly www.tsn.ca/world-junior...
December 18, 2025 at 4:30 PM
When the bridge hits mid celly www.tsn.ca/world-junior...
New from me: I asked Edmonton’s new police chief about photos obtained by @carrietait.bsky.social et al of his predecessor, Dale McFee, at Oilers playoff games with Sam Mraiche/government ministers edmontonjournal.com/news/dale-mc...
Edmonton police chief says policy changed since McFee's Oilers game attendance in businessman's box
Edmonton's new police chief says the service has revised its gifts policy since his predecessor's attendance at Oilers games in a businessman's private box.
edmontonjournal.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:29 PM
New from me: I asked Edmonton’s new police chief about photos obtained by @carrietait.bsky.social et al of his predecessor, Dale McFee, at Oilers playoff games with Sam Mraiche/government ministers edmontonjournal.com/news/dale-mc...