A woman wanted by Sarnia police linked to a near-fatal Nelson Street stabbing has finally been arrested after nearly five months on the lam.
A woman wanted by Sarnia police linked to a near-fatal Nelson Street stabbing has finally been arrested after nearly five months on the lam.
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Tesha Oliver, 30, of Aamjiwnaang First Nation, quickly got bail after spending just one night in custody, but she’s banned from talking to the person who was stabbed and from knives.
Officers called to a disturbance at a Nelson Street home at 5:30 pm May 9 learned a person stabbed in an altercation – Corey Maness, court records say – had suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Sarnia police said at the time.
“But (the wound) appeared to have missed his carotid artery by millimetres,” assistant Crown attorney Aniko Coughlan told a judge Wednesday during Oliver’s bail hearing, which wasn’t covered by a publication ban.
Oliver was wanted on charges of aggravated assault, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and breaching probation, police said at the time. They released her photo, noted she had the word “vivacious” tattooed above her right eye and asked anyone who knew where she was to contact them.
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Oliver was finally arrested Tuesday night and appeared in a Sarnia courtroom about noon Wednesday wearing a green sweater with long brown hair. She also appeared tired.
“Hello? Hi. This case is about you. It would be important for you to pay attention. You don’t have to stand up, but you have to be awake,” Justice Mark Poland said as the prosecutor was about to read a summary of the allegations.
The court heard Maness and Oliver were in a woman’s apartment on Nelson Street, near Felix and Capel streets, when they started arguing. Oliver allegedly picked up a steak-style kitchen knife and stabbed Maness in the left side of his neck, causing a 2.5-centimeter puncture wound.
They both fled. Maness was found and taken to hospital, where medical staff said the wound didn’t appear life-threatening, but had narrowly missed the major artery.
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Maness refused to co-operate with police or allow photos to be taken, but officers seized a steak knife with what appeared to be blood on it from the apartment.
Poland agreed to grant Oliver $500 lease with a series of rules as the Crown suggested, but first looked at her prior record. He noted there were no significant offenses of violence.
“Although it’s a pretty substantial criminal record in terms of property crimes and such,” he added. “Certainly suggestive that there’s some things going on in Ms. Oliver’s life that need to be addressed.”
When Oliver was sentenced to 1.5 years in jail in April 2023 for a series of crimes including possessing stolen vehicles, breaking and entering, theft, and using a stolen credit card, a different Sarnia courtroom heard she struggled with an opioid addiction. But the sentencing judge focused on her victims as well as her drug issue.
“Clearly, Ms. Oliver, your actions have demonstrated a repeated disrespect for the law as well as the property of others,” Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski said at the time.
Oliver’s new lease order bans her from contacting six people, going to the Nelson Street apartment and using knives unless she’s eating or needs them for work.
“No knives. Understood?” Poland asked her.
Her case returns to court Oct. 17.
Maness, who also recently got bail after being arrested in connection with a clash with a security guard in Rainbow Park, returns to court Oct. 3.
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