On November 6, 2023, the Manitoba Integrated Violent Offender Apprehension Unit (MIVOAU) received information from the Vancouver Police Department requesting assistance locating and apprehending a violent adult male offender believed to have fled to Manitoba.
October 29, 2023, 28-year-old Jessie Gerald Joe MARTIN-FRENCH was believed to have fled from a halfway house in British Columbia, where he was serving a sentence for firearms and drug-related offences. A Canada-wide warrant for his arrest was issued for being Unlawfully at Large.
At the request of the Vancouver Police Department and Corrections Canada (Parole), the MIVOAU were tasked to locate MARTIN-FRENCH, now believed to be in Portage-la Prairie, MB.
Assisted by members of Manitoba First Nations Police, MIVOAU officers searched several residences in Portage La Prairie, MB. While searching one of the residences, MARTIN-FRENCH fled from officers by jumping from a bedroom window but was safely arrested after a short foot pursuit.
MIVOAU officers conveyed MARTIN-FRENCH to the Stony Mountain Institution for subsequent transport back to British Columbia.