🚨 FROM DEATH THREATS TO DUTY TO WARN TO FIREBOMBING
Who Knew What, When Did They Know It, and What Did They Do?
Examining the Roles of the City of Castlegar and the Castlegar RCMP
By Black Sheep Whistleblower
June 11, 2026
On January 22, 2026, my family home in Castlegar was firebombed while my disabled daughter and I were inside. According to my understanding of the incident, two assailants targeted both my son’s bedroom window and the front entrance of the residence with incendiary devices. I was able to extinguish the fires before they fully engulfed the home, but not before inhaling a significant amount of smoke while fighting the fire in my son’s bedroom. As a result, I was transported to hospital and kept under observation for smoke inhalation.
Just two months earlier, on November 19, 2025, I received a formal RCMP Duty to Warn regarding what police advised was an imminent threat to my life. The warning arose from information being investigated concerning an alleged murder-for-hire plot.
Shortly thereafter, a private investigator contacted me out of concern for my safety and provided audio recordings that, in his view, suggested discussions involving Danny Keith Martin and Michael Martinz—the fiancé of Svetlana Dalla Lana at the time—concerning a plan to have me killed at my gym. Those recordings, together with the RCMP’s Duty to Warn, left me with little doubt that authorities were aware of a serious and escalating threat environment surrounding me in late 2025.
The question that continues to haunt me is simple:
How many warning signs were ignored before the firebombing occurred?
Spoiler alert: quite a few.
As this article will demonstrate, the City of Castlegar, the Castlegar RCMP Detachment, and numerous public officials received repeated written warnings regarding escalating harassment, threats, intimidation, public safety concerns, and risks directed toward my family. Those warnings were documented, distributed widely, and delivered weeks before the RCMP ultimately issued a formal Duty to Warn.
Whether those warnings were taken seriously, what actions were taken in response, and whether more could have been done are questions that remain unanswered to this day.
This article follows directly from my previous investigation into former Pastor James McFaddin, who was serving as an RCMP chaplain, and his wife, Mayor Maria McFaddin. It also examines individuals connected through their social and family circles, including Svetlana Dalla Lana, who was formerly married to Dr. Nathan Dalla Lana, the mayor’s brother.
I am not alleging that any specific individual participated in the firebombing of my home. Rather, I am documenting a timeline of events, relationships, warnings, and communications that raise legitimate questions about who was aware of the escalating risks, what information was available to decision-makers, and whether appropriate action was taken in response.
The purpose of this article is not to draw conclusions for the reader. It is to lay out the facts, the timeline, and the documented warnings that preceded a targeted attack on my home, and to ask whether opportunities existed to intervene before that attack occurred.
After reviewing the record, readers can decide for themselves whether the warning signs were missed, dismissed, ignored, or simply not acted upon with the urgency the circumstances required.
The McFaddin Connection
As outlined in my previous articles concerning James McFaddin and his transition from pastor to RCMP chaplain, my family had a lengthy history with both James and Maria McFaddin through New Life Church in Castlegar.
At the same time, another individual repeatedly appearing throughout this story is Svetlana Dalla Lana.
Svetlana was not a stranger to the broader Castlegar community. Her connections to the McFaddin family and local social networks were well known.
Years later, when allegations emerged concerning an alleged murder-for-hire plot involving Svetlana’s former fiancé, Michael Martinz, those historical relationships took on a very different significance.
Again, relationships alone prove nothing.
But they do raise questions about who knew whom, who was speaking with whom, and whether warnings that should have been taken seriously were instead dismissed.
October 2025: The Warnings
Long before the November 19, 2025 RCMP Duty to Warn, I had already been sounding the alarm.
For months, I had been documenting what I believed to be an escalating pattern of harassment, intimidation, defamation, and threatening behaviour directed at both myself and my family. Those concerns were not confined to private conversations or isolated complaints. They were put in writing and distributed to numerous individuals occupying positions of authority within the City of Castlegar, law enforcement, legal counsel, and oversight bodies.
🚨 October 2, 2025: “The City and RCMP Were Formally Put on Notice”
On October 2, 2025—forty-eight days before the RCMP would issue a formal Duty to Warn regarding an imminent threat to my life—I sent the following warning to Staff Sgt. Monty Taylor, the City of Castlegar, Mayor Maria McFaddin, James McFaddin, and dozens of City officials and staff members.
The purpose of the email was straightforward: to warn that the situation surrounding my family was escalating and that the ongoing harassment campaign was becoming a matter of public safety.
The email opened with the following warning:
“This is what happens when police and elected officials fail to do their jobs. Despite months of repeated warnings, correspondence, and formal complaints, there has been no meaningful intervention to protect my family, my wife’s workplace, or the broader {REDACTED} community from Danny Keith Martin’s sustained harassment and threats since May 2025.”
I then specifically warned recipients that the matter had moved beyond social media disputes and into public safety concerns:
“This is no longer simply a matter of online harassment. It is an issue of public safety, workplace integrity, and municipal accountability. The individuals named above, as managers, directors, and staff of the City of Castlegar, are now formally on notice of Martin’s conduct and the risks posed by the City’s continued failure to act.”
I further documented my concerns regarding escalating threats, harassment directed at {REDACTED} executives, and the impact on my family:
“Martin has been spamming {REDACTED} leadership with defamatory, pornographic, and threatening emails for weeks. This is not isolated but part of a sustained pattern.”
I warned that my wife and family no longer felt safe:
“I know my wife does not feel safe at home or at work because of Danny’s death threats against our family and the doxing of our home address and photos…”
Perhaps most importantly, I explicitly raised concerns that the conduct had become criminal in nature:
“These emails and X posts contain: Pornographic defamatory allegations; Threats of lawsuits; References to RCMP surveillance (‘watching you like a fukkin hawk’).”
And I warned:
“They fall squarely under: Criminal Harassment (s. 264), Uttering Threats (s. 264.1), Defamatory Libel (s. 298–300), Workplace Harassment statutes.”
Near the conclusion of the email, I made perhaps my clearest warning of all:
“This is no longer a matter of petty online taunts or social media disputes. It has become a systematic and well-documented campaign of harassment directed at me, my wife, and {REDACTED} leadership…”
And finally:
“What makes this escalation particularly disturbing is that it has been allowed to continue unabated despite months of complaints, police reports, and direct appeals to the RCMP and the City of Castlegar.”
Forty-eight days later, on November 19, 2025, the RCMP issued a formal Duty to Warn regarding an imminent threat to my life.
Sixty-four days after that, on January 22, 2026, my home was firebombed while my disabled daughter and I were inside.
Readers can draw their own conclusions.
What cannot be disputed is that the warnings existed, they were documented in writing, and they were delivered directly to the City of Castlegar, Mayor Maria McFaddin, Staff Sgt. Monty Taylor, James McFaddin, and dozens of municipal officials and staff members weeks before the Duty to Warn was issued.
These communications were not sent in secret.
Among those who received my warnings, concerns, evidence, or related correspondence were:
- Mayor Maria McFaddin, Mayor of Castlegar.
- Staff Sgt. Monty Taylor, Castlegar RCMP Detachment Commander.
- James McFaddin, former pastor of New Life Church and later identified as serving as an RCMP Chaplain.
- Tam Boyar, legal counsel.
- Samantha Arrandale, legal counsel.
- Sgt. Lloyd Schoepp, RCMP.
- Sgt. Chris Whynot, RCMP.
- Detective Dean Nichol, Calgary Police Service.
- Detective Lak Johal, Calgary Police Service.
- Detective Michil Saad, Calgary Police Service.
- Detective Clayton Martin, Calgary Police Service.
- Officials and administrative staff within the City of Castlegar.
- The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC).
Officials and Administrative Staff within the City of Castlegar
For greater certainty, the term “Officials and administrative staff within the City of Castlegar” includes, but is not limited to, the following individuals and positions:
Elected Officials
- Maria McFaddin – Mayor of the City of Castlegar; head of City Council and chief elected official.
- Darcy Bell – City Councillor; member of City Council.
- Brian Bogle – City Councillor; member of City Council.
- Sandy Bojechko – City Councillor; member of City Council.
- Shirley Falstead – City Councillor; member of City Council.
- Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff – City Councillor; member of City Council.
- Cherryl MacLeod – City Councillor; member of City Council.
Senior Administrative Staff
- Chris Barlow – Chief Administrative Officer (CAO); responsible for the overall administration and operation of the City.
- Nicole Brown – Manager of Legislative Services; responsible for corporate administration, legislative services, records management, Freedom of Information (FOI) matters, and support to Council.
- Steffan Klassen – Director of Finance and Technology; responsible for financial administration, budgeting, information technology, and corporate financial management.
- Meeri Durand – Director of Community Safety and Development; responsible for community planning, development services, bylaw administration, and public safety initiatives.
- Chris Hallam – Director of Municipal Services; responsible for public works, utilities, infrastructure maintenance, and municipal operations.
- Ryan Niddery – Manager of Engineering and Infrastructure; responsible for engineering projects, capital works, infrastructure planning, and asset management.
- Alexandra Hadfield – Manager of Human Resources; responsible for staffing, labour relations, workplace policies, and human resources administration.
- Nick Ahlefeld – Fire Chief; responsible for fire protection services, emergency response, and fire department administration.
- Jennifer Chamberlain – Executive Assistant to Administration; responsible for executive support, administrative coordination, records, and corporate communications support.
- Ginger Lester – Communications Manager; responsible for public communications, media relations, community engagement, and communications strategy.
- Deanna Hooper – Manager of Civic Works; responsible for civic operations, public works administration, and municipal maintenance programs.
Additional Personnel
This term also includes any current or former employees, officers, managers, directors, contractors, consultants, advisors, agents, volunteers, committee members, or representatives acting on behalf of the City of Castlegar during the relevant period, whether in an elected, appointed, employed, contracted, or advisory capacity.
The distribution list alone demonstrates that my concerns were reaching individuals occupying senior positions in municipal government, policing, legal practice, and public oversight.
The warnings were clear.
I repeatedly advised that the conduct being directed toward me and my family was escalating. I expressed concerns regarding harassment campaigns, coordinated attacks on my reputation, threats, intimidation, and the growing involvement of individuals connected to ongoing disputes and investigations. I documented those concerns in writing and provided supporting materials where available.
What is most striking today is not who received the warnings.
It is what happened afterward.
To the best of my recollection, many of these communications received little or no substantive response. No one contacted me to advise that the concerns had been investigated. No one informed me that protective measures had been implemented. No one provided reassurance that the risks I was identifying had been assessed and addressed.
Then, on November 19, 2025, the RCMP delivered a formal Duty to Warn regarding what was described to me as an imminent threat to my life.
Sixty-four days later, on January 22, 2026, my home was firebombed while my disabled daughter and I were inside.
I am not suggesting that any recipient of my emails knew a firebombing would occur, nor am I alleging that any of them participated in the attack.
What I am saying is that documented warnings existed. Those warnings were distributed to numerous individuals and agencies. The concerns were raised repeatedly. The threat environment ultimately became serious enough that the RCMP issued a formal Duty to Warn.
Viewed through that lens, the question is not whether warnings were provided.
The record shows they were.
The question is whether those warnings were taken seriously, what actions were taken in response, and whether more could have been done before events escalated from warnings and threats to a targeted attack on my home.
November 19, 2025: Duty to Warn
On November 19, 2025, RCMP officers attended and formally delivered a Duty to Warn.
According to information later provided to me, investigators were examining allegations involving a potential murder-for-hire conspiracy.
The names that would later emerge included Michael Martinz and others connected to an expanding network of individuals who had been publicly targeting and harassing me.
At that point the threat was considered sufficiently serious that police believed I needed to be warned.
That fact alone should have caused every prior warning to be re-evaluated.
Instead, many of the same concerns continued to be ignored.
January 22, 2026: Firebombing
Sixty-four days after the Duty to Warn, my home was attacked.
Multiple incendiary devices were thrown at the residence.
My disabled daughter was inside.
I was inside.
The attack occurred in broad daylight.
Police would later describe the incident publicly as a targeted attack.
For me, the question became unavoidable:
How does someone go from receiving a formal Duty to Warn regarding an alleged murder plot to having their home firebombed two months later?
And why were so many earlier warnings dismissed?
The City of Castlegar
I leave it to readers to review the correspondence and timeline for themselves.
What cannot be disputed is that municipal officials received information from me regarding ongoing concerns.
What also cannot be disputed is that after repeated communications, my ability to engage with certain city channels became increasingly restricted.
Whether that was appropriate, justified, or prudent is a matter readers can decide for themselves.
What I know is that I continued raising concerns while the threats continued escalating.
The RCMP
The RCMP were not unaware of what was occurring.
The Duty to Warn itself demonstrates that investigators believed there was enough information to justify notifying me of a threat.
Yet despite that warning, the firebombing still occurred.
The central question remains:
What happened between November 19, 2025 and January 22, 2026?
What investigative steps were taken?
What risks were identified?
What risks were dismissed?
And how did those assessments align with the events that ultimately unfolded?
Questions That Remain
To this day, several questions remain unanswered:
- Who reviewed the warnings provided before November 2025?
- What actions were taken after those warnings were received?
- Were municipal officials aware of the escalating concerns?
- Were any concerns shared between agencies?
- What changed between the Duty to Warn and the firebombing?
- Could additional intervention have prevented what occurred?
These are not accusations.
They are questions.
And they deserve answers.
Related Articles
The Firebombing Series
Part 1: The Firebombing of My Home
Part 2: The Posts That Followed the Firebombing
James McFaddin Series
Part 1: James McFaddin
Part 2: The Questions That Follow
Final Thought
The purpose of this article is not to tell readers what conclusions they should reach.
The purpose is to document a timeline.
Warnings were made.
Emails were sent dating back to October 2, 2025 to the City of Castlegar and the Castlegar RCMP
Concerns were documented.
Recipients were identified.
No response was received and its likely my email were blocked.
A formal RCMP Duty to Warn was issued on November 19, 2025.
A targeted firebombing occurred on January 22, 2026.
Those events are matters of record.
What remains unclear is what happened in the weeks between those warnings, the Duty to Warn, and the attack itself.
Were the concerns properly assessed?
Were the risks adequately understood?
Were opportunities to intervene missed?
Could more have been done?
I do not claim to know the answers to those questions.
What I do know is that the warnings existed, they were delivered to numerous individuals in positions of authority, and the threat environment ultimately became serious enough that the RCMP determined a formal warning regarding an imminent threat to my life was necessary.
The chronology speaks for itself.
Whether that chronology reveals institutional failure, missed warning signs, simple misjudgment, or something else entirely is a matter for readers, investigators, and public officials to consider.
For my family, however, this is not an abstract debate.
It is the story of how repeated warnings were followed by a Duty to Warn, and how that Duty to Warn was followed sixty-four days later by the firebombing of our home while my disabled daughter and I were inside.
That is why these questions matter.
And that is why they deserve answers.
Notice to Readers
This article represents my personal account, opinions, observations, and interpretation of events based upon documents, correspondence, public records, media reports, court records, Freedom of Information requests, communications received by me, and other materials available to me at the time of publication.
Except where expressly stated otherwise, all statements concerning the intentions, knowledge, motivations, beliefs, conduct, or state of mind of any individual are my opinion, inference, concern, suspicion, question, or interpretation based on the facts presently known to me.
Where allegations, complaints, concerns, investigations, reports, threats, or statements made by third parties are discussed, they are identified as allegations, complaints, concerns, reports, or statements and are not presented as established facts unless independently verified through official findings, court decisions, or other reliable evidence.
Nothing in this article should be interpreted as an allegation that any individual or organization committed a criminal offence unless such finding has been made by a court of competent jurisdiction. Likewise, references to relationships, associations, communications, timelines, or patterns of conduct are provided for informational and investigative purposes only, and readers should draw their own conclusions.
The purpose of this article is to document events, preserve a historical record, raise questions of public interest, and encourage transparency and accountability regarding matters that have directly affected me and my family.
Any person referenced in this article who believes information is factually inaccurate is invited to contact me with supporting documentation, and I will consider corrections, clarifications, updates, or responses for publication.
The facts, documents, correspondence, and timelines referenced herein speak for themselves. Readers are encouraged to review the source materials and reach their own conclusions.
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