Canadian Rookie Cop Busts US Fugitive

A Rookie member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, out of the academy for just six weeks, chased down, tackled and arrested a fugitive from the United States. Mountie Stephane Gagnon captured Richard McNair, an escaped murderer who had managed to get out of a Federal prison in Pollock, Louisiana las year - his third escape since being convicted of killing Jerome Theis during a burglary in 1987.

McNair told the young officer: "You have captured a big fish here — you guys will be on the news tonight."

"I don't know if he (Gagnon) realizes the significance of the arrest," Wells said. "There are those that go 20 to 30 years — or their entire careers — without making a high-profile arrest."

"I did only my job," Gagnon said Friday.

McNair, 48, was convicted of killing Jerome Theis, of Circle Pines, Minn., in November 1987 during a burglary at a Minot grain elevator. Richard Kitzman, an elevator employee, was shot three times but survived.

McNair's crimes brought him a life sentence. His escapes landed him a list of the 15 of the nation's most wanted criminals.

Gagnon was on patrol with training officer Nelson Levesque when the two noticed McNair in a stolen van. McNair sped away in the van when the officers attempted to pull him over, but hit a dead end, the officers said.

McNair fled the vehicle, and was tackled by Gagnon after a quarter-mile foot chase down a dirt road and through a wooded area.

McNair fought being handcuffed but Gagnon "applied pressure points to make him comply," Wells said. "At that time we didn't know who he was — we thought he may have been a suspect in tobacco smuggling or drug smuggling."

I hope they have this guy well secured. He is more than a little good at escaping.