Eric Wildman transported back to Manitoba: RCMP
Posted June 20, 2021 2:56 pm.
Last Updated June 20, 2021 3:03 pm.
WINNIPEG (CityNews) — The Manitoba man suspected in the homicide of his missing neighbour was transported back to Manitoba following his arrest in Ontario.
Manitoba RCMP say they transported Eric Wildman, 34, back to the province on Friday.
A warrant for his arrest was executed and he is facing additional firearm charges.
He has been charged with failing to report the destruction of a prohibited firearm, transportation of a firearm contrary to regulations and possession of a prohibited device.
Wildman is a suspect in the homicide of Clifford Joseph, 40, who was his neighbour in rural Manitoba. Joseph has been missing since June 7. He was last seen leaving his home in the Rural Municipality of St. Clements, north of Winnipeg.
Mounties had been scouring Manitoba for Wildman for nearly a week prior to his arrest. There had been credible sightings of him renting a vehicle at the Winnipeg airport and at city hardware stores.
The search had expanded to the area near the Ontario boundary after a sighting of a suspect vehicle.
Then tips started to come in from east of Toronto more than 2,000 kilometres away.
A vehicle with a matching description and licence plate was spotted at a residence just outside Belleville, Ont., on Thursday night.
Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said police surrounded the home.
“Upon entering, they were met with gunfire coming from the residence,” Schmidt said in a video posted online.
Schmidt said crisis negotiators were eventually able to get the two men inside to surrender. One of the men arrested was Wildman. RCMP said the other was his “associate.”
Mounties said they believe the home was always Wildman’s destination.
–with files from The Canadian Press
