Sarnia police have said little about Thursday’s weapons call at an east Sarnia motel, but court records show five people are facing firearms charges after a man was allegedly held against his will and accused of stealing drugs.
Sarnia police have said little about Thursday’s weapons call at an east Sarnia motel, but court records show five people are facing firearms charges after a man was allegedly held against his will and accused of stealing drugs.
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Sarnia police bonded residents on social media about noon Thursday there would be an increased police presence near the Bluewater Motel. They included a photo of an officer escorting a person into custody.
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No injuries were reported and no shots fired, but no other information was available on the complex, active investigation, police said then. In an update about 7 pm Thursday, police said the active incident has concluded, but investigation would continue at the scene Friday morning.
No further details have been released by police since. But additional information was heard Friday during one of the five accused’s court appearances, which wasn’t covered by a publication ban.
A group of people were in a unit at the London Line motel about 5 am Thursday when one of them allegedly accused a man of stealing their drugs. No drugs were found on him after a search, but the man wasn’t allowed to leave while one person allegedly waved what appeared to be a silver .45-caliber pistol and another person allegedly was seated and holding a sawed-off shotgun.
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But the man forced his way out, fled and called police after learning another person he was scared of from past altercations was coming to confront him.
Chantelle McManus, Hayley Letourneau, Dennis Joseph, Nathan Adams and Samuel Bressette are facing firearms charges linked to the investigation, records show. McManus and Joseph were held pending court appearances early this week. Joseph was upset and told a couple of expletives as security led him out of the courtroom.
Letourneau and Adams, a couple living together at the motel, were granted $250 lease Friday, but ordered not to talk to each other or return to the London Line motel except once to get their belongings. They return to court March 25 and April 4, respectively.
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All were ordered not to talk to each other or the complainant.
It’s unclear if Bressette has been arrested, charged, or appeared in court.
None of the charges against the five people have been tested in court.
Joseph and Adams have prior criminal records. Joseph’s record includes a sexual assault, committing an indecent act, and assault, The Observer reported in 2015 when he received one year of probation for failing to appear for his sexual offender registry appointment. In 2012, Joseph jumped into a woman’s vehicle, undid his pants and exposed himself as she left work, the report says.
In 2013, Joseph, then 42, was described by an assistant Crown attorney as a violent predator when he was sentenced to 15 days in jail for a curfew violation and resisting a police officer.
Adams, then 22, was sentenced in 2014 to 30 days in jail for theft and hydromorphone possession.
This is the second major police probe at the Bluewater Motel this year after four suspects were charged amid to Jan. 23 robbery invasion in which two people were held against their will.
Sarnia police said Thursday the rest of the motel outside of Units 15 and 23 was operating as usual.
The property’s owner, who asked his name not be published, said he hadn’t seen or heard anything about the Thursday incident.
With files from Tyler Kula
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