A Manitoba man at the centre of a police manhunt that led RCMP to send out alerts warning of an immediate threat to the public last week has officially been charged.
Wesley Manfred Wadien, 38, was arrested in the RM of Rockwood Oct. 20 after leading police on a day-long chase through Manitoba’s Interlake.
His arrest at 8 p.m. that night came after police issued a media release that afternoon, warning that Wadien was considered armed and dangerous before later sending out two emergency alerts through cellular phones and broadcasts to say the suspect was considered an immediate threat to the public.
Police said the alerts were regionalized and only sent to areas of the province where they thought Wadien could be. They said the warning applied to the Selkirk, Interlake and Winnipeg areas.
At a press conference held less than 30 minutes before the arrest, RCMP Supt. Rob Lasson advised anyone living in those areas to stay indoors while officers searched for the suspect, then thought to be on foot somewhere in the Interlake.
Police released more information about what led up to Wadien’s arrest Tuesday.
They say officers had been searching for Wadien in connection with an incident the previous day (Oct. 19) where they allege Wadien uttered threats and pointed a firearm in Selkirk.
He had also been also wanted on multiple other warrants, police say.
Wadien was spotted in a vehicle in Selkirk around noon Oct. 20, police say, but when officers tried to pull him over he sped away, heading north into the Interlake.
RCMP from Gimli and Stonewall then joined the search, which included help from the Winnipeg police helicopter.
Roughly four-and-a-half hours later, police received a report about a suspect matching Wadien’s description driving off without paying for fuel at a gas station in the Riverton area. Officers were able to track their suspect down again, this time in the Gimli area, where they say he continued to drive at high rates of speed.
It’s at that time police say they decided to send out the alerts warning about Wadien.
“Risk assessments were being done continuously as the search progressed, and given the likelihood that he was armed, along with his escalating and extremely dangerous actions on the roadways to avoid arrest, police determined that Wadien was an imminent threat to public safety,” RCMP said in Tuesday’s release.
Police say officers ultimately found Wadien’s vehicle in a ditch after it was seen speeding through the RM of Rockwood.
A witness pointed police to a nearby wooded area where Wadien was tracked down and arrested without incident.
Wadien is facing a number of charges including two counts of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, operating a conveyance in a dangerous manner, point a firearm without lawful excuse, two counts of uttering threats, and two counts of possession of a firearm while prohibited.
Wadien remains in custody.
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