**** RCMP Media Release
Ellershouse man faces numerous charges after flight from police
Halifax District RCMP assisted West Hants District RCMP in arresting a man following an assault that occurred in Ellershouse.
On April 6, at approximately 9:40 a.m., Halifax District RCMP officers observed a man, who was involved in an assault that took place the previous day in Ellershouse, driving on Hwy. 7. A traffic stop was attempted; however, the man didn’t comply. RCMP officers did not pursue the vehicle.
RCMP officers attempted to stop the man’s vehicle using spike belts. To avoid one of the belts, the man swerved his vehicle and struck a commercial truck, which was stopped in traffic on Hwy. 7. The vehicle continued on and failed to remain at the scene.
Meanwhile, additional RCMP officers were on the Forest Hills Extension attending to an unrelated motor vehicle collision, which had closed the roadway. Officers positioned spike belts across both lanes of the road in anticipation of the man’s travel through the area. When the man approached the location, he tried to go around a police vehicle, but was unsuccessful. When officers advised the man he was under arrest, he reversed his truck and got stuck in the nearby ditch.
Members of the Halifax Regional Police Emergency Response Team and an HRP K-9 Team, who also responded to the incident, then arrested the driver. The man resisted arrest and sustained a bite on his lower leg from the police dog. He was treated by EHS at the scene and taken into custody.
Randall Blanchard, 35, has been charged with:
- Assault Causing Bodily Harm;
- Forcible Confinement;
- Uttering Threats;
- Breaking and Entering with Intent;
- Mischief;
- Theft of a Motor Vehicle;
- Failure to Comply with a Release Order (Four counts);
- Dangerous Operation of a Conveyance;
- Flight from Peace Officer;
- Failure to Stop After Accident;
- Resists a Peace Officer.
Blanchard was remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear in Windsor Provincial Court on April 11.
The investigation is ongoing and being lead by West Hants District RCMP.
