A stolen rifle. Officer Injured. Homes broken into: Belle River crime spree explained

Leamington man pleads guilty following Belle River crime spree. CTV’s Michelle Maluske reports.

Noah White, 23, of Leamington has pleaded guilty to his actions in a Belle River crime spree on July 3, 2023.

“The entire neighbourhood appeared to be affected by the erratic and unpredictable behaviour of the accused,” Assistant Crown Attorney Jayme Lesperance read from an agreed statement of fact, obtained by CTV News.

It all started around 6:47 p.m. when a resident saw White exit his vehicle while it was still moving along Notre Dame Street.

White has admitted to entering three homes on Belle River Road, Diesbourg Boulevard and Charron Street.

He ran through numerous backyards, encountering residents along the way.

Many of whom told police White appeared to be armed with some self-inflicted wounds.

He told one resident “he was high”, according to the agreed statement of fact.

Officer involvement

Numerous calls were made to 911.

One of the OPP officers to respond, a woman, had the most violent interaction with White.

She exited her cruiser, armed with a police-issued rifle and “commands were given by gun point arrest”.

White didn’t listen and fled.

The officer returned to her cruiser, placing the assault rifle on the passenger seat.

Armed with a screwdriver, White approached the cruiser while the officer used her radio to inform dispatch about his last known location.

“The officer was seated in her vehicle with the window rolled down. The accused then began stabbing at (the officer’s) hands and neck area,” the ASF reads. “The officer and the accused began pulling back and forth on the loaded C8 rifle.”

White was able to disarm the officer and flea with the loaded rifle.

He abandoned the rifle in a backyard on St. Pierre Street without firing any shots.

The officer suffered survivable stab wounds to her forearm.

Rescue and arrest

By 7:20 p.m. the call to police was to report someone jumping into the Belle River.

The West Belle River Road resident “observed the accused treading in the water and blood surrounding him. The accused had serious self-inflicted wounds to his neck and chest area.”

Two other officers rescued White from the water and administered life saving measures, as he was “bleeding profusely from the neck and chest area”.

“The accused was agitated and resisting apprehension by (officer) and other assisting officers,” according to the ASF.

White was arrested less than 45 minutes after the first call to 911.

Probation violations

At the time of the crime spree, White was under not one but two separate release conditions for alleged offences in Windsor and Kingston.

He was charged with cocaine trafficking in December 2020 and ordered to not possess any illegal weapons from a Windsor judge.

Then in February 2021 he was charged in Kingston with aggravated assault and two counts of armed robbery.

He faced a breach of probation charge, plus the new offences and was ordered to always be at home with his surety.

By the Belle River incident, White’s actions were a breach of those probation orders.

He was ultimately charged with 17 offences.

He pleaded guilty Oct. 22 to:

Count 1 – Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle

Count 2 – Unlawfully in a Residence

Count 5 – Unlawfully in a Residence

Count 6 – Assault Police with a weapon

Count 7 - Disarming a Peace Officer

Count 12 – Possession of a Prohibited Firearm

Count 17 – breach release order – remain in his residence

A date for sentencing has not been set.