On February 18, 2012, at approximately 11:30 p.m., members of the Barriere RCMP received a report of a domestic assault between a common law couple at a residence located within the District of Barriere on Birch Lane.
On their arrival police say a woman was located at a neighbour’s residence with minor injuries and was removed from the area by police to ensure her safety.
Two Barriere RCMP members then went to the woman’s residence in an attempt to locate the male suspect, Jordan Leader, 43, and have him exit the residence. Members entered the home and conducted a search for the male and located him in the garage area.
Police say they observed the male with a bolt action rifle in his hands and the male refused to comply with police instructions to drop the weapon. Concerned for their safety and that of the male suspect, the RCMP members repositioned outside the residence, established a security perimeter and requested the assistance of additional police officers from the surrounding area and from the South-East District Emergency Response Team.
A further perimeter was set up in the subdivision, and residents of the immediate area were evacuated for their safety. Many other residents outside the immediate area were requested to stay inside their homes.
Members of the Southeast District Emergency Response Team and of the Lower Mainland Emergancy Response Team maintained security for public safety while providing assistance to the Southeast District Negotiation Team. The Southeast District Negotiation Team continued discussions with the male overnight and after over 29 hours the male subject exited the garage in the early morning hours and was taken into custody without incident.
Residents of the area who were evacuated say they were relieved to be able to return to their homes, and those who left by choice and not permitted to return, were also eager to be able to enter their homes again.
“We went to church on Sunday morning and were surprised to see that there was a check point at the bottom of our road,” said resident Jack Wood, “We were told that we would not be able to come back through until the situation had been resolved. We took the opportunity to visit a former colleague in Kamloops who is very ill right now. When we came home about 6:30 p.m. the road was still closed.
“We were not particularly worried about our safety - we had not been evacuated because we live at the opposite end of the subdivision. The only precaution we took was to lock our house just in case.
“We think that the police were efficient, they did what needed to be done, and they had the training and experience needed to deal with the situation. They did not want to put anyone’s safety at risk. It is a tricky situation to protect the public at times when there’s trouble. It was not a big inconvenience for us, and we believe that the actions of the young man could really have been a call for help.”
Police report they located a loaded .270 high powered hunting rifle in the residence along with a .22 caliber rifle and two bows and arrows. There were no children involved in the incident.
Leader, who was allegedly in breach of release conditions preventing him from being in the residence, is currently in custody at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre, and will remain there until his second court appearance in Kamloops on Tuesday, Feb. 28. He is charged with assault and weapons offenses.