More than two dozen RCMP officers with assault rifles descended on the Tyee Motel in Port Alberni yesterday morning.
Police blocked Redford Street at 9:30 as they surrounded the building and were negotiating with people in a lower level room for more than an hour.
An armoured police truck pulled up in front the the hotel and eight camo-clad Emergency Response Team members swept in to make the arrests.
Port Alberni RCMP Constable Richard Johns confirmed they successfully arrested David Bird who was wanted on a series of charges.
“David Bird was wanted by police for a series of violent offences including robbery, forcible confinement, break and enter and assault with a weapon all stemming from an incident that occured in December 2022,” he said. “Yesterday morning, while officers with our major crimes unit were at a motel in the 4100 block of Redford Street a member observed Mr. Bird in a window of a hotel room. Front line officers were supported by officers from our Major Crime Unit to contain the area until Vancouver Island’s Critical Incident Command Team arrived on scene. This team consists on the Emergency Response Team, negotiators and command elements from across Vancouver Island.”
Bird is alleged to have played a role in robbery that saw two women charged in December and are currently awaiting trial.
Bird was on probation at the time after serving a 4-year sentence for kidnapping and beating a man with a stamp hammer in 2018.
He had been jailed on similar charges in 2006, 2014 and 2016
He received a bail hearing yesterday and will remain in jail until his trial
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