An ex-Midland Transport employee allegedly stormed back to his old workplace, armed with a rifle, to confront a former coworker early Monday morning.
Police say James Stoddard, 51, showed up at the Burnside Industrial Park business shortly after midnight. An employee outside managed to wrestle the gun out of Stoddard’s hands.
“The employee took the rifle from the man and tried to convince him to go home, but he refused,” Halifax Regional Police spokesman Const. Jeff Carr said.
Stoddard then allegedly entered the building and threatened an employee with a broken bottle he pulled out of his jacket.
“It was a verbal confrontation more than physical,” Carr said.
A supervisor was called. He, along with other staff, confronted the intruder and convinced him to leave. Police were called in and, after a brief hunt, arrested Stoddard in a car parked on Main Street in Dartmouth. The Head of Jeddore man was arrested without incident.
Sources say he worked at the company until 2006 and that there were 15 employees on site at the time of the incident.
Stoddard appeared in court yesterday wearing a green Midland jacket.
He faces seven charges including assault with a weapon, uttering threats, impaired driving and failing a breathalyzer test.
He was released on $3,000 bail until his next court appearance April 22. In the meantime he was ordered to abstain from drugs and alcohol, have no firearms or prohibited devices and to keep the peace. He also has a curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., seven days a week.
Staff at Midlands were not speaking yesterday. Media inquiries were passed along to the vice-president of communications, Mary Keith, but she was unavailable as of press time.
No one was hurt in the confrontation. Stoddard was also ordered to stay away from three people.
