Police in Saskatchewan recapture last of six escaped inmates on reserve

RCMP Sgt. Carole Raymond said although shots were fired at officers, no one was hurt as Ryan John Agecoutay, 25, was taken into custody on the Star Blanket First Nation northeast of Regina.

"We're very pleased," Raymond told The Canadian Press. "Public safety was our first priority and that has been addressed."

She said the investigation into the prison break will now focus on "accountability."

"They were at large a long time and people helped these individuals remain at large," she said. "That's where we need to take our look now - why, who helped them, how did they escape to begin with."

The RCMP's emergency response team, working with officers from the Files Hills First Nation, responded to a tip and moved in to surround a residence about 3:30 p.m.

"Negotiations were commenced," said Raymond, adding that two hours after the standoff began, two women left the house.

"At approximately 6:35 p.m. two shots were fired from the residence to the exterior. Members remained composed and negotiations continued, which were successful."

She said Agecoutay surrendered at 7:20 p.m.

"Any time police are shot at, you need to take your own personal safety into account. In this case, they were in a position that they were able to continue with negotiations. They did a great job."

She said that although there is a fair bit of distance between homes on the reserve, some neighbours were evacuated as a precaution.

"Once the ERT team was deployed, we certainly take into account evacuating any persons that are in harm's way.

"We're very pleased that no one was hurt, and that's the biggest thing. You just never know when the emergency response team and people's emotions are in play."

Noel Starblanket, an elder and council advisor, said it was a tense situation all afternoon.

"They were gathering folks in the village, especially elderly people, asking them to secure their premises," he said.

After the woman and her 16-year-old daughter came out of what he described as a duplex, Starblanket said a young man emerged.

"(He) was pretty agitated and he had a shotgun and fired a couple of shots - I'm not sure where, or if he aimed it at anybody, but nonetheless shots were fired from a shotgun," he said.

"We're really appreciative of the way police handled it and the fact they were able to contain the situation and conclude it in a peaceful way. Our whole community is very relieved and very happy."

Starblanket said people on the reserve had been talking for a long time about the possibility Agecoutay might show up at some point.

"We call it the Mocassin Telegraph," he explained. "There always is a lot of buzz about who might be where. Watching the news, people were keenly alert about where people might want to go. We knew of his association with this lady, but we didn't know where she was."

Six prisoners broke out of the Regina prison on Aug. 24 by busting through a brick wall. One of them was recaptured almost immediately, but it took weeks for the remaining five to be tracked down.

James Joseph Pewean, 25, was caught six days after the breakout in Regina.

Cody Dillon Keenatch, 19, and Preston Clarence Buffalocalf, 22, were arrested in Winnipeg on Sept. 9 following a tip to police and a search of a downtown apartment building.

Daniel Richard Wolfe, 32, was arrested in Winnipeg last Wednesday at a gas station during rush hour.

Agecoutay, who court records say also goes by the last name Bellegarde, is accused of aggravated assault. He was charged after a man was found seriously injured in north-central Regina in April 2007.

Agecoutay was also the leader of a violent riot in one correctional centre where he was housed, according to federal parole documents.

Wolfe is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder in a violent home invasion in Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask., in 2007.

At the time, police said two perpetrators forced their way into a home and began shooting. Two men were killed and three other people were seriously injured. No date has been set for Wolfe's trial.

Saskatchewan authorities came under fire following the breakout for taking 14 hours to notify the public of the escape. They also scrambled to explain what actions were taken when senior jail officials were tipped in advance that a possible escape was in the works.