More charges for man accused of 2014 murder in Rutland

KELOWNA – It took Crown three years to charge a Kelowna man with the 2014 murder of Chris Ausman and now, three months after that, they’ve added charges of theft, breaking and entering and possession of drugs.

Steven Randy Pirko, born 1992, already had a record of petty thefts, drug possession and probation breaches when in November last year he was arrested for second-degree murder of the 32-year-old Kelowna father found bleeding to death on a Rutland sidewalk in January 2014.

Ausman’s family told iNFOnews they believe he was killed after an argument but police have not confirmed.

Pirko was arrested Nov. 19, 2016 and charged with second degree murder.

Last month Crown added more charges that appear unrelated to the murder.

On Jan. 9 he was charged with a July 6, 2016 break and enter of a storage locker on Academy Way, on Jan. 11 with a June 17, 2016 break and enter of a parking garage on Barber Road and a July 23 theft from Winners when police also found him in possession of cocaine.

Court records show Pirko has in the past used the name Lieam Grubisic as an alias, which is spelled very similarly to a man who lives in the Kootenays but is in no way involved.

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