ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Charges are still pending against the man and woman arrested in Dildo Thursday morning after they were reportedly involved in a shooting incident in St. John’s.
Paul Hennebury, 45, is being assessed in hospital, while the 29-year-old woman, whose name hasn’t been made public, has been released from custody with the promise to appear in court at a date to be determined, according to the RNC. She’s been ordered to stay in the province.
RNC Const. James Cadigan said while suspects’ names are normally not made public until they appear in court, Hennebury’s name was released because he was believed to have had a weapon at the time. Cadigan wouldn’t say if Hennebury had a weapon at the time of his arrest or if one was located.
Hennebury and the woman were being pursued after police received multiple reports of shots fired on Cowperthwaite Court in the capital city about 6:30 a.m. Thursday. No injuries were reported.
Officers received information that Hennebury had fired a gun in the area and that he had left in a car driven by the woman.
Police located the suspect vehicle, a stolen black Honda Civic, a short time later in the Conception Bay South area, where it proceeded onto the Trans-Canada Highway travelling west.
The RNC and RCMP collaborated as the vehicle was tracked to Dildo, a short distance from the turnoff at Whitbourne. RCMP officers from Placentia, Whitbourne, Trinity Conception, Holyrood and traffic services had responded as the car was involved in a two-vehicle collision in Dildo, where it came to rest against a house.
RNC police dog services arrived on the scene moments later as Hennebury got out of the car and tried to run away.
About 11:40 a.m., Hennebury was taken into custody in Dildo by RNC police dog Gunner and RCMP officers.
Hennebury and the woman will face charges that include possessing a stolen vehicle, fleeing from police and dangerous driving.
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EARLIER STORY:
Residents of Dildo are accustomed to people flocking to their tiny tourist town, but the commotion there on Thursday morning was unsettling.
Multiple RNC and RCMP vehicles, police officers, ambulances and firefighters swarmed a section of the main road, Route 80, near the turnoff to Dildo Cove — the scene of a two-car collision and subsequent arrest of two people believed to have been involved in a targeted gun attack in St. John’s hours earlier.
“We didn’t know what was going on, but we knew it was something big because (police) had the road blocked off. It was pretty shocking,” Dildo resident Peter Reid told The Telegram.
“We couldn’t get out and people couldn’t get in. There was a big line of traffic in both directions. … My brother was coming from Whitbourne and he turned around and had to reroute across the Veterans (Memorial) Highway, through the Tilton Barrens into New Harbour to get home.”
It was later reported that the RNC and RCMP took 45-year-old Paul Hennebury of St. John’s and a 29-year-old unidentified woman into custody in Dildo in connection with the incident of shots fired at Cowperthwaite Court, near the west end of Elizabeth Avenue in the capital city.
Police received multiple reports of shots fired on Cowperthwaite Court about 6:30 a.m. Officers contacted residents in the area and no injuries were reported.
Before officers got there, they received information that Hennebury had fired a gun in the area and that he had left in a car driven by the woman.
According to the RNC, officers immediately shifted their focus to locating the suspect vehicle in order to apprehend Hennebury and the woman.
Police located the suspect vehicle, a stolen black Honda Civic, a short time later in the Conception Bay South area, where it proceeded onto the Trans-Canada Highway travelling west.
The RNC and RCMP collaborated as the vehicle was tracked to Dildo, a short distance from the turnoff in Whitbourne. RCMP officers from Placentia, Whitbourne, Trinity Conception, Holyrood and traffic services had responded as the car was involved in a two-vehicle collision in Dildo, where it came to rest against a house.
RNC police dog services arrived on the scene moments later as Hennebury got out of the car and tried to run away.
About 11:40 a.m., Hennebury was taken into custody in Dildo by RNC police dog Gunner and RCMP officers.
“Officers are on scene in Dildo as well as Cowperthwaite Court as they continue to canvass the area and follow up on the investigation,” RNC Const. James Cadigan told The Telegram at that time.
Hennebury and the 29-year-old woman remain in custody in connection with the incident on Cowperthwaite Court, while charges are pending for possessing a stolen vehicle, fleeing from police and dangerous driving.
It’s not the first time Hennebury has been in trouble with the law for crimes involving firearms.
In the fall of 2018, he was convicted of several charges, including possessing an unauthorized firearm, carrying an unauthorized weapon in a vehicle and breaching a lifetime firearms prohibition. He was sentenced to about five months in jail for those offences. He was handed the lifetime firearm prohibition in 2017 after a drug-trafficking conviction, which landed him a seven-month prison term.
Hennebury was also attending drug court to deal with pending drug-trafficking charges. His case was most recently called Wednesday and he was due to appear again Aug. 12.
The RNC's major crime unit is investigating Thursday’s incidents and asks anyone who has information that may assist the investigation, or has CCTV or dash camera footage, to call the RNC at 729-8000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Information can also be provided anonymously on the NL Crime Stoppers website at www.nlcrimestoppers.com.
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