Tobias Charles Doucette is seen in this undated police handout photo.HO/The Canadian Press
The mayor of a Nova Scotia town that was the scene of a days-long manhunt for a man accused of stabbing a police officer said Monday his community is relieved the suspect has been arrested and charged.
“It’s been a trying time,” said Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell, on the arrest of Tobias Charles Doucette, who evaded capture by police for nearly a week. “Last week was a roller-coaster … It’s a big sense of relief in the community.”
The 31-year-old suspect was officially charged Monday during a brief court hearing in Bridgewater, N.S., about 100 kilometres west of Halifax.
He is charged with attempted murder, assault, aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, mischief, theft of a motor vehicle, two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and wounding a law enforcement animal.
Mr. Doucette was arrested Saturday night after police responded to a call about an attempted vehicle theft in the village of Hebbville, N.S.
The suspect fled after allegedly striking an officer in the neck with an edged weapon as police responded to a domestic violence call at a hotel in Bridgewater on July 20. Mr. Doucette is accused of assaulting his common-law partner in the same incident.
He was spotted by an RCMP dog and handler last Tuesday in Conquerall Bank, N.S., but police said he escaped into nearby woods after allegedly stabbing the dog with a stick.
After going several days without finding any trace of Mr. Doucette, police responded to two possible sightings of him in Bridgewater on Friday.
He wasn’t arrested, however, until the night after police received the call about the possible vehicle theft. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Doucette was wearing shorts but had no shirt or shoes.
Police had established checkpoints at various sites around the Bridgewater area in the past week, with one as far away as the Canso Causeway to Cape Breton, Mr. Doucette’s home region.
Danny MacPhee, Bridgewater’s deputy police chief, told reporters Monday he thinks Mr. Doucette never left the Bridgewater area. “I believe he never broke our containment,” the deputy chief said. “When he was escorted out of the woods [by police] he was compliant.”
The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for July 30.
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.