A police service dog was used to apprehend a 23-year-old local man after he allegedly fired bear spray at a Hart area homeowner during the second of two early-morning confrontations Tuesday, Prince George RCMP said.
RCMP were called to the Lehman Street home twice before Justin Lee Philippe was arrested.
The first came at 1:45 a.m. when the homeowner reported confronting someone on his property. The suspect fled before police arrived but roughly two hours later, the second call came through. This time the homeowner said he found the same person on his driveway and when he approached him, the suspect shot bear spray at him. A service dog tracked a suspect to a nearby shed. When he refused to comply with RCMP orders to come out and with police believing he still had the bear spray, the dog was deployed. Philippe was taken to hospital where he was treated for minor bite wounds, RCMP said, and he appeared in court later Tuesday. From the incident, Philippe faces charges of assault with a weapon, uttering threats, possession of a weapon, break and enter with intent to commit a crime and possession of stolen property and remained in custody pending a bail hearing today.
