Latest news with #Zielke
CBC
11-04-2025
- CBC
Saskatoon church places worship leader, former mayoral candidate on leave after robbery, assault charges
Mark Zielke will not be playing piano this weekend at St. Paul's United Church in Saskatoon. The 41-year-old is now on administrative leave from his lay position as a worship leader at the church in the wake of robbery and assault charges. For more than a decade, the self-described justice advocate and one-time candidate for mayor has also provided leadership at Sunday worship, done pastoral care and provided musical accompaniment to artists playing at the church. That is now all on hold. Zielke, 41, is accused alongside Tyson Moore, 44, and David Dominguez, 41, of robbing the Hitching Post Motel on Saturday night. The trio were arrested after RCMP stopped Zielke's white BMW X3 at the Borden Bridge, 50 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. They each face 14 counts of robbery and assault. Rev. Mitchell Anderson said members of the congregation became alarmed Sunday morning when Zielke did not show up for work at the church. Anderson said Zielke joined the church, in the Sutherland neighbourhood, in 2011 and is its longest serving lay employee. "When Mark was not at work on Sunday, members of the congregation felt that that behaviour was uncharacteristic and so they tried to contact him, contact friends of his, stopped by his home," Anderson said. "When they were unable to find him, they contacted the police with their concerns." Zielke was in jail. Anderson said the United Church has clear policies about conduct by ministers. "There is a policy as it relates to ordained ministers, which is that when an ordained minister is charged with a criminal offence, they're placed on administrative leave," he said. "As a lay employee, the congregation has decided to place [Zielke] on administrative leave. This allows us the time to gather more information in order to prayerfully and thoughtfully make decisions about the future."
CBC
10-04-2025
- CBC
Former Saskatoon mayoral candidate charged with robbery, assault at motel in North Battleford, Sask.
A man who ran for mayor in Saskatoon in 2020 is one of three charged with armed robbery, assault and other offences after a robbery at a hotel in North Battleford, Sask. Mark Zielke ran unsuccessfully for Saskatoon mayor in 2020, placing sixth in a field of six. Zielke, 41, is accused alongside Tyson Moore, 44, and David Dominguez, 41, of robbing the Hitching Post Motel on Saturday night. The trio were arrested after RCMP stopped Zielke's white BMW X3 at the Borden Bridge, 50 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. Zielke appeared by video Wednesday in North Battleford provincial court. He made bail and is scheduled to return April 28. Bail hearings for Moore and Dominguez are set on Thursday. Mark Zielke posted this selfie on X on April 4, the day before his arrest. (Mark Zielke/X) RCMP offered a narrative of events in a news release and supporting court documents. Officers responded to the Hitching Post at about 10:40 p.m. CST on Saturday after reports of a robbery. They arrived to find a motel staffer injured and were told three suspects had made off with cash, electronics, ID and financial cards, according to the news release. Cameras at the Lone Star Hotel next door captured the white BMW leaving the scene, staff told CBC. RCMP stopped the car at the Borden Bridge and arrested the three men. All three men are facing 14 charges related to the robbery. The court documents allege Zielke had a loaded, unregistered Glock 19 handgun and a sword inside the car. He's also charged with confining and threatening to kill motel staff, and damaging the motel CCTV cameras. It's alleged that he assaulted the motel staffer with a large ring. On his social media profile on X, Zielke is shown wearing an oversized ring with a Lady Justice insignia. Zielke showing off a ring on X. (Mark Zielke/X) In addition to running for mayor, Zielke is well known in the local legal community for his advocacy work. Although he is not licensed in Saskatchewan as a practising lawyer, he offers to represent people in small claims and traffic court through his business, Living Sky Advocates. In 2019, a Court of Queen's Bench judge ordered Zielke to stop giving legal advice or acting for clients in court until he is licensed by the Law Society of Saskatchewan. In 2021, Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal overruled that decision.
