HALIFAX – A 43-year-old man has escaped from custody while being transferred to a sheriff’s van in Nova Scotia, and it’s not the first time the man has slipped from authorities.
The latest incident happened at 5:45 p.m. Friday at the parking lot of the Truro Justice Centre.
According to the Department of Justice, Marc Joseph Pellerin was being transported from Shediac jail in New Brunswick to Halifax for a Monday court appearance.
He was to appear on a variety of charges, including theft of a motor vehicle, theft over $5,000, break and enter, possession of stolen property, evading police, unsafe storage of a firearm and resisting arrest.
READ: Police looking for man who stole $8,000 in jewelry from Dartmouth store
Prisoner not handcuffed or in shackles
Fred Hildebrand, the executive director of Sheriff Services, says Pellerin was not wearing handcuffs or shackled when he was being transferred between the two vehicles, which is against policy.
“Normally in a transport, they have the handcuffs and shackles on all the time. That’s the routine,” he said.
“We want to investigate to get the facts we need the facts to determine exactly what happened.”
He says the sheriffs had used an SUV for the drive from Shediac to Truro because of the weather. Pellerin was supposed to be transferred into a van for the remainder of the trip.
“I understand it was one of the SUVs which has 4 wheel drive. The reason being yesterday I guess they had a lot of snow up north and they took the SUV for safety reasons.”
Hildebrand adds there were four staff members taking part in the transfer and that they gave chase when Pellerin escaped.
“They chased him for several blocks in Truro and they couldn’t catch him,” he said.
Police partnering in search
Truro Police, RCMP and Sheriff Services have joined together in the search for Pellerin.
“We are still actively looking for him,” said Cst. Andrew Frost of the Truro Police Service on Saturday morning.
A media release from the justice department describes Pellerin as a white male with brown eyes and brown hair. He is 5’7” and weighs 155 lbs. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a dark jacket, blue jeans and sneakers. He also has tattoos on both arms.
Pellerin, who is from New Brunswick, escaped from custody briefly back in May. He had been arrested by Halifax Regional Police for allegedly selling stolen items at a pawn shop in Dartmouth and somehow escaped from the police vehicle while being transferred to the cells.
He ran away but police were able to catch him a short distance away.
Pellerin is charged with multiple property-related crimes involving pawn shops and jewelry stores in Dartmouth and Chester, including a theft at Mic Mac Mall in March.
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