NANAIMO — Nanaimo RCMP have laid second-degree murder charges in relation to a homicide Sunday at a Fifth Street townhouse complex.
Residents identified the deceased man as former tenant Floyd Travis, 35. He was pronounced dead in hospital Sunday, shortly after police found him, suffering from stab wounds.
The incident has residents concerned about the safety of the complex, where a number of families with children reside.
Police were also called to the property on Nov. 16 after a woman was stabbed. There was another stabbing incident in 2008.
The residence has been designated a nuisance property since Oct. 10, 2010, after the RCMP fielded 124 calls for service from January to October of that year.
Travis, remembered by some residents as someone who would “give the shirt off his back,” had recently moved away from the complex and was living in Cedar, said resident Daniel Lane, who knew him for more than 20 years.
Travis was at King Arthur’s Court on Sunday to pay a him and other residents a visit, said Lane.
“Floyd came over, we were drinking coffee and were smoking cigarettes,” said Lane. He said they left to go to Quality Foods to phone Travis’ grandfather. After they returned, Travis left and shortly after, Lane said he “started hearing the sirens and everything.”
“A guy came up to us and said, ‘Call 911, someone just got stabbed over there,’” said a resident who declined to give his name.
He said he had been leaving a friend’s unit, and stopped at his own residence to hand the man his phone.
“While he was on the phone with 911, I ran over there to see if there was anything that I could do. CPR was already being given, and I heard someone say, ‘;Come on, Floyd,’ ” added the resident.
Police said in a statement that it was the suspect they later arrested who was performing CPR.
The resident said he attempted to assist with the CPR and then went to the manager’s office to inform her of the incident.
Resident Carroll-Ann Roop lived with Travis and her daughter in one of the units in November 2012, and when she moved into another unit, “he did most of the moving” for her.
Sunday, she came across a man who told her there was another man dying “over there” and to call an ambulance.
“So I took my pups and I walked around and then I seen Floyd on the ground, but at that point he was already purple and I knew he was going,” said Roop.
RCMP said they were called to the scene at about 1:45 p.m.
Crown Counsel laid a charge of second degree murder against 40-year-old Gabriel Peter Stinson on Monday.
With a file from the Vancouver Sun
