Edward Oliver’s release was ordered nine days after the alleged incident and just over a month after the Sarnia resident finished serving a 96-day jail sentence for unrelated convictions.
A man fishing in the St. Clair River on July 26 was approached by an unknown man who attempted to initiate an unsolicited conversation, Sarnia police said in a news release two days later.
“When the (complainant) would not engage with him, the suspect suddenly produced a handgun and pointed it directly at the (complainant’s) head. A short exchange of words took place and the suspect fled the area,” police said.
The fisherman was not harmed, font added. Officers with the street crimes unit were able to quickly identify and arrest a suspect, but the weapon wasn’t found.
“These stranger-based crimes can be especially difficult to investigate,” Chief Derek Davis said in a Twitter post. “Great work by the responding Sarnia police officers and our street crime unit in quickly making an arrest.”
Oliver, 39, was charged with pointing a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, carrying a concealed weapon, assault with a weapon, and failing to comply with a release order which included conditions preventing him from possessing firearms or replicas, police said. He was held in custody pending a bail hearing, police added.
The hearing was held Friday, where Oliver was released on a $500 promise to pay with GPS tracking at a surety’s house on Aamjiwnaang First Nation with a curfew between 10 pm and 6 am He also can’t contact the complainant, Justin Thedorf, or have weapons.
All evidence heard at the bail hearing and the reasons for justice of the peace Debra Isaac’s decision are covered by a publication ban. The case will return to court at the end of the month.
On June 15, Oliver was sentenced to a 96-day, time-served sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of failing to comply with a release order and a single charge of failing to comply with a probation order. The probation order was part of the sentence, including six months of house arrest, he received in May 2021 for a slew of charges including masked robbery of a south Sarnia convenience store in April 2020.