Armed North Dakota man flees CBSA at Manitoba border, faces 10 charges

A 44-year-old North Dakota man was arrested after fleeing CBSA officers at the Emerson, Man. border crossing with a loaded handgun in his vehicle.

North Dakota man arrested at Manitoba border after high-speed flight from CBSA

A 44-year-old man from North Dakota faces 10 criminal charges after fleeing border agents and leading RCMP on a high-speed pursuit along Highway 75 in southern Manitoba, Global News Crime reports.

The incident began Saturday evening at the Emerson, Man. port of entry — roughly 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg — when the man, attempting to enter Canada from North Dakota, was directed to secondary screening. Rather than comply, he accelerated away from CBSA officers, who alerted police at approximately 6:23 p.m.

Officers from the Emerson, Morris and St-Pierre-Jolys detachments responded along Highway 75. An initial attempt to stop the suspect south of Morris was unsuccessful. RCMP then positioned vehicles at the intersection of Highway 75 and PR 210, but the man drove around the police cars, went through the ditch, narrowly missed an officer and continued north.

Police eventually stopped the truck further along the highway. The man was removed from the vehicle and taken into custody at 7:05 p.m. A loaded handgun and ammunition were found inside.

Charges against him include flight from a peace officer, assault of a peace officer with a weapon, export of a firearm, and possession of a prohibited firearm with readily accessible ammunition. He was remanded into custody. No officers sustained injuries, though one police cruiser was damaged during the pursuit.

Supt. Chris Hastie, district commander of the Manitoba east district, described it as "a dangerous situation involving an armed male fleeing the port of entry and travelling at high speeds toward Winnipeg." He added that "the work of everyone involved was remarkable."

The RCMP and CBSA are continuing their joint investigation and are working with federal RCMP and U.S. law enforcement to establish why the man fled the border.

Source: Global News Crime