Members of the Victoria Police Department took a trip to Paris last week, but they weren’t there for sight-seeing.
VicPD detectives flew overseas to bring back Sebastian Normandin, 49, a fugitive who had fled Victoria before his trial for attempted murder.
Normandin was arrested in December, 2016 after he was charged on allegations he attempted to drive his vehicle into his former girlfriend and her partner in the 1000-block of Gillepsie Place on Dec. 27, 2016. He faced two charges of attempted murder, assault causing bodily harm, criminal harassment dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, assault causing bodily harm and assault and failure to comply with conditions.
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Pending his trial, Normandin was released and subsequently left the country.
VicPD detectives, with the assistance of partner agencies, used warrants and tracking software to pinpoint Normandin’s location. He was in France, hiding from French and Canadian authorities. Once they knew where he was, investigators started working with RCMP, Interpol and the Canadian Department of Justice to request Normandin’s extradition back to Canada for his trial.
After 12 months embroiled in the extradition process and permission from the French Prime Minister, VicPD detectives flew to Paris. On Oct. 18 Normandin was returned to Victoria and is now in custody pending a bail hearing.
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“This has been a very lengthy process and I’m really proud of our entire team for being dedicated to this file to ensure our community knows that we take these files very seriously,” says a statement from VicPD Sgt. Shawn Robson. “Without the amazing efforts from our community partners here on Vancouver Island as well as in France, Mr. Normandin would still be at large.”
