More questions than answers after armed confrontation
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER — A Canadian school should never have to shut down for a week because of an alleged armed drug house next door.
Parents shouldn’t have to sweep the schoolyard for syringes. They shouldn’t have to stage a protest to try to deal with the matter themselves. And they shouldn’t have guns pointed at them when they do.
Yet all this drama unfolded between a small elementary school at Six Nations and a house 200 metres away.
This shocking scenario should make all of us angry. And it should raise questions about how this happened in the first place.
On Tuesday, Brett Elgin Elliott Sr., 49, was arrested after a nine-day manhunt and impressive display of force by the Ontario Provincial Police with the assistance of Six Nations Police.
Elliott faces a whopping 42 charges, mostly related to guns and stolen trucks. A close look at court documents shows a good chunk of those charges stem as far back as 2005.
A look at nearly 70 pages of documents — including arrest warrants, search warrants and bench warrants — also shows Elliott’s home address is always listed as 2130 Cayuga Rd., the house beside I.L. Thomas Odadrihonyanita Elementary School, which was closed all last week.
It’s unclear why it took so long to arrest Elliott on his outstanding charges, particularly when it appears — in court documents at least — that he had been living at the same address for 13 years.
Interview requests made to Six Nations Police have not been acknowledged.
On March 4, a Sunday, the school’s parents gathered to protest the house next door at 2130 Cayuga Rd., which they claim is the source of drug paraphernalia that regularly litters their schoolyard. Parents say they had to clean syringes and drug bags up to protect their children.
Concerned and frustrated, at least 40 parents gathered for the protest that afternoon. Three men from inside the house came out with guns to confront the parents, according to Six Nations Police. The parents backed off and called police. No shots were fired and officers showed up at the scene.
Later that day Joe Restoule General, acting principal of the school, posted on Facebook that the school would be closed “at the direction of Six Nations Police” as “a precaution in the interest of student safety.”
The school was closed that entire week.
A week after the protest, Six Nations Police said they were hunting for Brett Elgin Elliott Sr., who they believed was one of the armed men involved in the confrontation. Police said they took control of the home and property at 2130 Cayuga Rd. on the morning of March 9 to execute search warrants for guns. They restricted traffic in the area.
Four people were removed from the house, according to police, including a 93-year-old grandmother. It is unclear if any of those people face charges.
Police said Elliott was “considered violent and anti-police” and was the “patriarch” of the homestead. Police also acknowledged he was wanted on numerous outstanding arrest warrants, although they did not indicate that some of those charges were 13 years old.
The Turtle Island News reported police also had an outstanding warrant for Luella Shalise Elliott-Doxtador, 22. Court documents obtained by The Spectator show a different Luella Elliott, with the same home address as the alleged drug house, was a surety for Brett Elgin Elliott Sr. back in 2005.
By this time, Six Nations Police had enlisted the help of the OPP. Together, they executed a search warrant at the alleged drug house on March 9 and at an address on Sixth Line Road on Six Nations after reports that Elliott was there. He was not found, but a number of guns were seized.
“From the cooperation and information Six Nations Police are receiving from the community, the alleged illegal activity that Mr. Elliott and his family are involved in will no longer be tolerated,” they said in a news release.
Acting on a tip, Six Nations Police began surveillance on a house on Tuscarora Road on Monday.
That night and early the following morning, the OPP’s heavily armed Tactical Response Unit (TRU) and Emergency Response Team (ERT) arrived. As the OPP teams and Six Nations Police moved in on the house, Elliott ran from the home into the bush, according to police.
The TRU team and an OPP Canine Unit tracked him down and he surrendered.
Elliott is charged with: six counts of possession of a firearm while prohibited; five counts of failing to comply with conditions; flight from a police officer; two counts of assault with intent to resist arrest; five counts of possession of stolen property under $5,000; 15 counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000; two counts of careless use of a firearm; two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose; unauthorized possession of a firearm; possessing a firearm in a motor vehicle; failure to appear in court; knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Elliott is to appear in a Brantford court Friday for a bail hearing. And the pupils at I.L. Thomas Odadrihonyanita Elementary School (who have been on March break this week) are to return to class Monday.