New Year’s standoff in Minnedosa

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Published on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The normally quiet community of Minnedosa was anything but quiet on New Year’s Eve, as it dealt with a dramatic police standoff to ring in 2016.

At around 6 p.m. on Dec. 31, Spruce Plains RCMP received a report that a man had barricaded himself inside a second floor apartment above a business on Main Street. Nearby homes were evacuated by police, as they attempted to communicate with the man.

After several hours of trying to talk the individual out of the building, the emergency response team made the decision to enter the home and arrest the suspect.  The standoff came to an end at around 3 a.m., when officers fired tear gas canisters through the windows to assist their entry. There were no significant injuries during the standoff, though the suspect was treated in hospital before being placed in custody.

RCMP have confirmed that 44 year-old Jason Leschyshyn of Minnedosa has been remanded into custody and is scheduled for court appearances.