A Nova Scotia man who was wanted for numerous offences, including sexual assault, has been arrested in New Brunswick — with the help of some residents. The Nova Scotia RCMP said on Thursday a provincewide arrest warrant had been issued for 38-year-old Jerrad Wade Patriquin of Westchester, N.S. Patriquin was arrested in Wood Point, N.B., on Tuesday. Photos submitted to CTV News show a man being led out of a field by RCMP officers. Patriquin is facing the following charges: Police said Patriquin appeared in Amherst provincial court on Wednesday. He will remain in custody until his next court appearance on Aug. 12. Woman spots wanted man in driveway Bianca Sprague said she spotted the fugitive at the end of her driveway around 9:30 a.m. and her partner called 911. She was aware someone was at large in the area because she had been following posts made over the weekend on community Facebook pages. Photos of Patriquin had been circulating online and that’s how she recognized him. “My hands have been shaking all day,” said Sprague. Sprague recently moved from Toronto for a quieter life. “I left Toronto because I was tired of gunshots and this stuff happens all the time. I picked this really quiet little corner of New Brunswick and now it’s in my driveway again,” said Sprague. “It feels like commonplace in Toronto, it just feels so surreal to have it happen here.” RCMP vehicles arrived within minutes, Sprague said, and she also saw several pickup trucks go up the road. Residents assist RCMP with arrest Colin Cole was one of about a dozen local residents who assisted the RCMP with the arrest Tuesday morning. Cole and others drove their pickup trucks down to the marsh after someone spotted a man meeting Patriquin’s description. “A lot of our guys was spotting the subject up and down the road and in behind houses,” said Cole. “I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time when he came out on the marsh.” Cole said he drove up to the suspect in his truck while the RCMP were behind him. “We sort of just corralled him right there on the marsh and that was it,” said Cole. Cole stressed it was a community effort by everybody involved from one end of the community to the other. “I told him to give it up, you look like you’ve had enough. He was tired out. I imagine he put in three pretty bad days around here with the mosquitoes and the heat,” said Cole. “He wanted some water. I told him I’d give him some water if he stopped running, but he didn’t want to stop.” After the Mounties caught him, Cole said he gave the man some water and then he left the police to do their job. “Yeah, it got your adrenaline going for sure,” said Cole. “You never know what’s going to happen when you live out in the country.” Residents question lack of alert ready message Meanwhile, Sprague is “wildly disappointed” the RCMP didn’t send out an alert ready message, despite the fact people in the community had spotted him over the long weekend and posted photos online that appeared to be him. “Nothing was put out. Nothing was sent to our cellphones. We have these systems in place. They test them, they bother us all the time with these alerts, yet I feel a little bit failed as a member of this community right now,” said Sprague. Sprague’s partner Chantal Arsenault was also shaken up by the experience. “Very scary moment,” said Arsenault. “It’s not a good feeling.” Arsenault was impressed with the quick response and how the RCMP were able to arrest the man almost right away, but she too wonders why an alert ready message was not sent. “Absolutely there should have been an alert. There’s so many people I know that went down hiking this weekend in Rockport and they didn’t know anything about it,” said Arsenault. “Something should have been said for sure.” The New Brunswick RCMP told CTV News the incident did not meet the criteria for an alert ready message. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:
