Blair Rhodes

A 30-year-old man from Millville, N.S., is facing 21 charges after police seized several items, including guns, vehicles and pieces of police uniforms.

Cape Breton Regional Police first arrested the man last Friday following reports of a domestic disturbance.

They were called to an apartment building on the Esplanade in Sydney just before midnight on May 11. The suspect initially fled, but was later arrested at a residence in Millville.

After getting witness statements and viewing surveillance video, police got warrants to search two homes in Millville where the items were seized.

The charges include two counts of pointing a firearm, three counts of assault with a weapon and flight from police.&nbsp;

Police also recovered several articles of police clothing that are believed to be authentic pieces of RCMP and Ontario Provincial Police uniforms.

A criminologist at St Thomas University in Fredericton comments on a recent arrest in Cape Breton of a man who had a cache of weapons and police paraphernalia. Someone steals duck eggs from a nest in Fredericton. And on the phone-in:Jim White.

That led to additional charges under the Police Identity Management Act that came into effect last May.

The act is a response to the deadly rampage of April 2020, when a gunman masquerading as an RCMP officer killed 22 people. The act makes it illegal for people who aren't police officers to use equipment and uniforms to masquerade as police.

Cape Breton police said in a release that they're trying to verify whether the uniform pieces are authentic.

The man was in court Friday to answer to the charges. He has been released on conditions.

Staff shortages at Nova Scotia jails prompt Charter challenges by inmates

Inmates and guards at Nova Scotia jails can agree on one thing: there are serious health and safety issues arising from staff shortages.

Cells are seen during a media tour of renovations at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Halifax on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The work includes the configuration of a cluster of cells around a living area where guards will be stationed to observe and interact with inmates. The medium-security facility has a capacity of 322 male and 48 female offenders.  

Burnside jail common room

Staffing shortages at Nova Scotia jails have become so critical that some inmates have gone to court, arguing that their Charter rights have been breached because they are being kept in their cells for too long.

N.S. man, 48, gets nearly 8 years in prison for killing girlfriend

A Hammonds Plains, N.S., man will spend at least about eight more years in prison for stabbing his girlfriend to death in 2020.

A large home with yellow police tape around it. Two police vehicles are seen in the driveway.

The homicide took place at this home in Glen Arbour Way. 

495 Glen Arbour Way 

Stephen Alexander Beckett admitted to killing his girlfriend, Tracy MacKenzie, at his home in April 2020.

Boy, 15, charged with attempted murder in stabbing at Dartmouth fair

Halifax Regional Police say the teen was arrested after he turned himself in at police headquarters on May 13.

Police are shown at the scene of a stabbing at a fair ground

fair ground stabbing

Police are shown at the scene of a stabbing at a Dartmouth fairground. A youth has been charged with attempted murder in connection with the incident.

Bigger Mi'kmaw lobster fishery possible because DFO redistributed unused licences

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been buying back unused lobster licences to increase the Mi'kmaw trap allotment from 1,600 to 4,600 during the spring fishery in waters off Cape Breton Island.

People in a canoe paddle past a large fishing boat tied up in a canal lined with people.

Potlotek First Nation was the first in Cape Breton to launch a moderate livelihood fishery and since then DFO has expanded it to include We'koqma'q and Eskasoni.

Potlotek First Nation livelihood fishery

Potlotek First Nation was the first in Cape Breton to launch a moderate livelihood fishery and since then the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has expanded it to include We'koqma'q and Eskasoni.

CBRM mayor says financial plan is new, but problems and solutions aren't

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Amanda McDougall says CBRM has sent the Nova Scotia government a detailed plan to address financial concerns raised by the municipal affairs minister earlier this year.

A woman with glasses and a flower print dress speaks out.

Mayor Amanda McDougall says Cape Breton Regional Municipality's new financial action plan provides a detailed response to the Nova Scotia municipal affairs minister's concerns.

CBRM Mayor Amanda McDougall

Police say they searched two residences in Millville, N.S., and seized a number of articles of police clothing and equipment that appeared to be authentic, among other things.

Cape Breton man facing weapons, police paraphernalia charges

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