On January 8, 2024, shortly after 1:30 p.m., the Sault Ste Marie Detachment of the OPP, the OPP’s Emergency Response Team and Community Street Crime Unit responded to an individual that was reportedly holding a beer and waving a firearm at vehicles, trying to flag them down on Highway 17 near Chippawa Falls in Tilley Township.
Officers arrived on scene a short time later and observed the suspect holding a firearm walking unsteadily in the middle of the highway. Police ordered the suspect to drop the 22-caliber rifle. At 1:48 p.m., the suspect complied and was arrested.
As a result, Thomas Liddle, 66 years-of-age from Bracebridge, was charged with:
· Handle Firearm, Weapon, Prohibited Device or Ammunition in a Careless Manner
· Careless Storage of Firearm, Weapon, Prohibited Device or Ammunition
· Unlawfully Possess Loaded Firearm Within 8 Metres of Road
· Being Intoxicated in Public Place
· Having Liquor in Open Container in Unauthorized Place in Unauthorized Place
The accused has been released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Sault Ste Marie on February 5, 2024.