Winnipeg cops didn't alert other police to wanted man's whereabouts

Winnipeg police failed to notify B.C. and Alberta about the whereabouts of a man wanted in those provinces who has now been arrested in a violent attack on a Winnipeg real-estate agent
 
Joseph Robert Davis, 36, was arrested in Winnipeg Wednesday, 12 days after an attack on a 50-year-old real-estate agent.

Davis has been charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm in connection with the incident. He remains in police custody in Winnipeg.

Since his arrest, another realtor, Marlene Hornick, has come forward, saying she became suspicious about Davis's claims that he wanted to buy a house from her last September.

Hornick was so uneasy, she reported the situation to police — but she says police told her Davis was "harmless."

In fact, Davis has a history of violent and sexual crimes dating back almost 20 years.

Hornick was horrified to learn Davis has now been charged in connection with an attack on another agent.

"I'm really angry at our justice system," she said. "I understand that maybe your hands are tied, but there's got to be something that's done. We have to be able to make this public knowledge.

"We don't know what kind of wackos are out there, and how are we protected?" she added. "I did what I thought was right — something was suspicious, and I reported it. But it was not taken seriously enough."

Outstanding warrants in B.C., Alberta

Police spokesman Sgt. Kelly Dennison said investigators did not have sufficient information or evidence to charge Davis with a crime at the time of Hornick's complaint.

But Winnipeg police also did not contact police departments in Alberta and British Columbia, which had issued warrants for Davis, to let them know he was in Winnipeg.

The warrants issued were not the type that would have required police to arrest the suspect, but Dennison conceded police should have informed the other police agencies about Davis's whereabouts.

"Steps need to be taken to notify the agencies who have placed those warrants on the system," he said Thursday.

"In this case, that wasn't done initially."

He has also been charged with extortion — a charge "indirectly related" to the alleged December attack on the realtor and does not involve the real-estate agent, Dennison said.