Winnipeg police said a dramatic arrest following an armed standoff at a Pembina Highway beer store Thursday was the end of a city-wide crime spree that was likely connected to meth.
Alexander Branislav Jovanovich, 33, was taken into custody after being shot with ‘less lethal weapons’ and tackled to the ground by police. He had barricaded himself inside a Pembina Highway beer vendor for four hours Thursday night.
“It’s believed the male was responsible for several other incidents that occurred during the day,” Cst. Jay Murray said Friday.
The first incident occurred at 7:30 a.m., at a gas station in the 1300 block of McPhillips Street. After gassing up his vehicle, the suspect grabbed some products, demanded money from the employee then fled.
At 2:35 p.m., a man ordered a meal at a restaurant in the 3300 block of Portage Avenue. He demanded money from an employee, and fled the restaurant with an undisclosed amount of cash.
At 3:10 p.m., a suspect stopped a vehicle in traffic on Marion Street and carjacked the 61-year-old driver at knifepoint.
The standoff at the Pembina Highway beer store began at about 3:40 p.m. and involved negotiators as well as a heavy police presence.
“You look at the crime spree this individual was on early in the day,” Murray said. “That’s three robberies, including a carjacking at knifepoint. You’ve got an individual who was driving very erratically, doing anything to get away.
“If you look at the other side of this, and if we had only deployed just a handful of resources – you saw the way this individual ran when we tried to take him into custody. If this individual had been able to reach a vehicle, we might have had a different story.
“We believe the incident is related to the use of methamphetamine.”
Following the take-down, Jovanovich was taken to hospital as a precautionary measures. He has since been released into police custody.
He faces charges of fleeing police, theft under $5,000, weapons possession (x3), robbery (x3), dangerous operation of a motor vehicle (x2), and failing to comply with a probabtion order (x4).
WATCH: Winnipeg standoff comes to dramatic conclusion