A 31-year-old man is facing numerous charges after he allegedly scaled between two buildings to peer inside a woman’s bathroom window in Welland earlier this week and then fought with responding officers in an attempt to evade arrest.
Police say that officers were dispatched to a building near West Main Street and Denistoun Street at around 6 a.m. on Aug. 27
Once on scene, officers spotted a suspect approximately 20 feet from the ground using his legs to hold his body up in a four-foot gap between two buildings.
He was naked from the waist down, according to police.
“In an effort to avoid police interaction, the suspect climbed to the roof before jumping to the ground and running from officers,” a news release issued by the Niagara Regional Police Service notes. “He was caught after a short foot pursuit and attempted to resist arrest by fighting with officers. After a short struggle he was secured into handcuffs and placed under arrest.”
Police say that the suspect was ultimately taken to hospital for a medical assessment due to the height of the fall.
While at the hospital, it is alleged that the suspect again attempted to escape by breaking free from an officer’s grip and sprinting towards an exit.
Police, however, say that officers were able to regain control of the suspect.
A suspect, identified as Barry Austin Morningstar, of no fixed address, is facing a total of 10 criminal charges, including voyeurism.
Police say that they are working to determine if the Aug. 27 incident is connected in any way with another break-and-enter that occurred in Welland on Aug. 22.
In that incident, an unknown adult male entered a residence through a window and had an interaction with a young child before leaving on foot.
