Bystander stops cuffed, pantless suspect’s escape attempt

RCMP have arrested three suspects in connection with a home invasion in Nictaux on Monday night.

Const. Dominic Laflamme said three people forced their way into a home in the Annapolis County community. At least one person was assaulted but, while firearms were used in the offence, they were not discharged.

One person was arrested nearby that night but the others fled. Police identified two suspects and tracked them down at a motel in Kingston on Tuesday evening.

“They arrested the two suspects and are all being held in custody pending court appearances,” Laflamme said.

Police from Kings and Annapolis counties converged on the Aurora Inn to arrest the pair. Video taken by a bystander shows a police vehicle in the parking lot facing one of the rooms, with an officer using the speaker on the vehicle to tell the suspects to come to the front door with their hands up. A second video showed one man being arrested at gunpoint.

Not long after, the man took off running in a bid to escape.

“They took him over to the cop car and he ran from there across the field towards Freeman’s auto (across Highway 1),” said the bystander, who didn’t want to be identified.

He said the closest officer stumbled and fell while chasing the man, and “that’s when I ran and cut him off. His pants fell down, so he stopped. I looked at him and said, ‘Really? Just stop.’ Then he kicked them off and ran again. That’s when I kicked him and we both went down.”

Officers took the man back into custody. The bystander said he scraped his own back when he fell but wasn’t seriously hurt.

“He was handcuffed, so you won’t run far when you can’t use your hands,” Laflamme said of the fleeing suspect.

The trio are facing a slew of charges in connection with the home invasion, but more are possible in connection with other offences in Kingston, he said.