Wanted Victoria man arrested in U.S. after Coast Guard rescue, bizarre fish incident at 'Goonies' house
Wanted Victoria man arrested in U.S. after Coast Guard rescue, bizarre fish incident at 'Goonies' house
A man wanted in Victoria, B.C., is now in custody in the U.S. after a bizarre series of events, including a dramatic ocean rescue by the Coast Guard and the placing of a dead fish at the house made famous by the 1985 film "The Goonies."
On Jan. 19, Victoria police announced a B.C.-wide warrant had been issued for Jericho Labonte, who was wanted on charges of criminal harassment, mischief and three counts of failure to comply. On Friday night, he was arrested in Astoria, Ore.
Earlier that day, a crew with the U.S. Coast Guard was taking part in a training operation at the mouth of the Columbia River when they received a mayday call. That section of the ocean is known as “the graveyard of the Pacific” due to its notoriously rough seas.
Petty Officer Michael Clark said boat crews located a Sandpiper yacht taking on water with a man on board. The conditions were too dangerous to try retrieve the man by boat, so rescue swimmer Branch Walton was sent to grab him.
Just as Walton reached the vessel, it was hit by a massive wave, so powerful that the craft rolled over and ended up floating upright.
“I kinda got thrown around a little bit by the wave and when I came up I noticed that the boat was pretty much in shambles,” Walton said.
The man on board was pulled to safety and taken to hospital suffering mild hypothermia. The U.S. Coast Guard posted a picture of the rescue and the man was recognised as the same person wanted in connection to a bizarre incident at the "Goonies" house two days earlier.
A man with the name Jericho Labonte posted a video to Facebook showing himself placing a dead fish on the porch of the home. In the video, he can be heard saying, “Best $500 I ever spent, thanks British Columbia.” The incident was also captured by surveillance cameras.
By the time police realized Labonte was the man found by the Coast Guard, he had been discharged from hospital.
“Connections were being made that it was the same person and that he was at the hospital, and by the time we got involved, he had been released from the hospital,” Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said, adding that the Sandpiper yacht was also reported stolen.
Victoria police told CTV News in an email that they were still waiting for confirmation that the man in custody in Oregon was the same Labonte wanted in B.C.
It was later confirmed by Kelly in an email to CTV News.
“It is the same person,” he wrote. “An officer from Victoria has contacted one of our sergeants.”
Labonte’s charges in the U.S. include theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief. It’s not yet known if he will be brought back to Canada.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with Vladimir Putin in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
Even at one of the tallest natural peaks on Earth, humans have left their mark in a trail of bacteria as researchers have found germs from coughing and sneezing that have been potentially preserved for centuries on Mount Everest.
Shares of Credit Suisse plunged 63 per cent in early trading Monday after the announcement that banking giant UBS would buy its troubled rival for almost US$3.25 billion in a deal orchestrated by regulators to stave off further market-shaking turmoil in the global banking system.
Mounties in Port McNeill violated a suspect's Charter rights by failing to allow him to contact a lawyer promptly after his 2019 drug trafficking arrest, a judge has ruled.
The Town of Strathmore and Siksika Nation hosted the first Lead By Example Powwow this weekend in honour of a young Indigenous man who was shot to death four years ago.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
March 20 marks the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere, and, after a long, grey winter, Torontonians can soon look forward to warmer temperatures and sunnier days.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Two families were displaced early Monday morning after a fire ripped through a building in Montreal's Quartier Latin. No one was injured, according to the Montreal fire department (SIM).
One person has been confirmed dead and six people remain missing as police continue to search for victims after a fire swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday.
Travel nurses go from place to place, all over the world, filling in wherever help is needed. To assist with current shortages, some are in Saskatchewan.
Pile O Bones hosted their 18th annual tattoo convention at the Turvey Centre on the weekend where artists from around the country were able to highlight their talent.
Some residents of Saskatchewan's capital city have been vocal with their disapproval of Tourism Regina's latest rebrand, prompting an apology from the organization.
The University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association says its staff has gone on strike after what it says are failed attempts to enter additional negotiations with the university's administration.
The student union president at Cape Breton University said food insecurity has become a concern for many students and the on-campus food bank cannot keep up with demand.
The University of Prince Edward Island coach is defending the team’s actions, after the University of Alberta team skated off the ice without handshakes at the U Sports Men’s Hockey National Championship in Charlottetown.
Lane restrictions are now in place on Wellington Street as construction gets underway on Phase 1 of the Wellington Gateway and Municipal Infrastructure Improvements project.
The first day of spring in the London region will be a beautiful one. The daytime high is forecast to be 6 C, slightly warmer than the average high for this time of year.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
A community is in mourning after a 10-year-old girl was killed earlier this week when flames tore through her family’s camping trailer southeast of Brantford.
St. Patrick's day street parties in Waterloo, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau making an announcement in Guelph, and a woman charged with defrauding doulas round out the most-read stories of the week.
