VICTORIA -- Saanich police have re-arrested a man who was wanted on warrants after missing a court appearance Monday to answer to charges related to a police standoff in Victoria.
Matthew Neely, 28, was scheduled to appear in Victoria court Monday morning. When he failed to show, a bench warrant was immediately issued for his arrest.
Hours later, Saanich police say they were called to the 3500-block of Shelbourne Street for a suspicious vehicle believed to have been stolen from Esquimalt an hour earlier.
Just before 11 p.m., police in the area stopped a group of men walking in the area and recognized one of them as Neely.
Police say Neely then ran from police but was caught, taken into custody and held for another court appearance Tuesday morning.
Police say additional charges related to the stolen car are being considered.
"This arrest highlights a timely investigation and collaboration by both the Saanich and Victoria Police to apprehend an offender that has fled from police previously and posed a significant risk to the public," said Markus Anastasiades of the Saanich Police Department.
In September, Neely was charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, possession of stolen property over $5,000 and breach of an undertaking following a seven-hour standoff in a home near Victoria's Royal Jubilee Hospital on Sept. 4.
The incident brought heavily armed police and the region's emergency response team (ERT) to the 2200-block of Shelbourne Street.
Several homes in the area were evacuated and traffic on the street was halted while police and an armoured ERT vehicle surrounded the home.
Officers were initially called to the area for reports of an intoxicated man standing in the middle of the roadway.
When officers arrived, the man allegedly fled in a vehicle, ramming several parked cars, including a police vehicle, before fleeing into a house on foot.
Police deployed a negotiator and stun grenades before eventually arresting the man at gunpoint.
