MEADOW LAKE – A man wanted for breaching his statutory release conditions from prison faces additional weapons-related charges and wasn’t given bail March 20.
Christopher Gilbert Ernest, 26, was wanted by Correctional Service Canada, as well as for an incident in February where a man was threatened with a firearm on Waterhen Lake First Nation.
Police say there was an altercation between two men, and one threatened the other with a firearm. The victim was able to escape.
Meadow Lake RCMP and Crime Reduction Team located Ernest at a home in Beauval on March 1. At the residence, officers seized a loaded firearm, ammunition, about 28 grams of cocaine, and trafficking paraphernalia.
Ernest was arrested on outstanding warrants and additionally charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, unsafe storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, three counts, possession of a firearm/ammunition while prohibited, two counts, fail to comply with release order condition, and being unlawfully at large.
Ernest had also previously escaped custody from the Meadow Lake Provincial Court, prompting an RCMP manhunt. On April 26, 2021, while appearing in court on weapons and assault with a weapon charges, he fled. He was later arrested in Edmonton, Alta.
Ernest is scheduled to appear in Beauval Circuit Court on April 2 by CCTV.
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