A Victoria man that was the central figure to a bizarre string of crimes spanning the Pacific Northwest has been charged with a misdemeanour in Astoria, Oregon.
Jericho Wolf Labonte was charged on May 2 with third-degree criminal mischief for leaving a dead fish at a home in Oregon, a misdemeanour offence that is punishable by up to 30 days and fines of $1,250 in the state.
Back in February, Labonte made headlines when dramatic footage surfaced of his rescue off the coast of Oregon, just seconds after the ship he was on capsized. At the time, he had given a fake name to his rescuers, but it was later uncovered he was a wanted man from Victoria B.C., who was last seen leaving a dead fish on the porch of the home where the 1985 movie The Goonies was filmed.
The story grabbed the attention of locals from Vancouver Island when the public realized this was the same man who was wanted earlier in the year by VicPD.
RELATED: Victoria Police turn to public for help finding wanted man Jericho Labonte
On Jan. 19, Victoria Police issued a B.C.-wide warrant for Jericho Labonte on criminal harassment, mischief, and failure to comply charges.
His May 2 misdemeanour charges are in relation to the fish incident.
He was previously indicted on charges relating to the alleged theft of the yacht that capsized in February by the Clatsop County Circuit Court in Oregon.
A spokesperson with the Astoria Police Department confirmed with CHEK News that Labonte is currently in the custody of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
It isn’t clear at this time if Labonte will be deported back to Canada, but CHEK has reached out to ICE for more information.
With files from Oli Herrera.
(1/4) #BreakingNews – Talk about arriving in the nick of time! While conducting a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River, 2 Coast Guard air crews received a #MAYDAY broadcast from the master of the P/C Sandpiper. After notifying watchstanders at Sector Columbia River pic.twitter.com/CtYSgpdPUG
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