Canadian Man Arrested After Swimming Across Border To Steal Gun From US Pawn Shop

Wearing a wetsuit, swimming fins, and a crossbow pistol strapped to his back, Canada's Jeremy Wallace went for a swim that would result in federal charges and two Michigan area schools being locked down.

Police say that Wallace, a 24-year-old from Sombra, Ontario, told them he swam across the St. Clair River in East China Township, Michigan on September 6th around midnight because he couldn't buy a gun in Canada due to a conviction involving weapons there. His plan was to swim to the US, steal a gun from a pawn shop, and then swim back across to Canada with the firearm.

A police affidavit from the incident noted that Wallace told police that after making the swim, he had to ditch the wetsuit a couple of miles into his 16-mile journey because he began to overheat as he set off on foot to walk to New Haven, Michigan.

The Canadian man told authorities he did research on the store the night before he set off on his journey, which was why he had a hammer with him on the swim, “in case he needed to break into the store."

Things didn't go to plan though.

WDIV reported that once Wallace finally got to the pawn shop In New Haven, employees thought he was acting very strange, so they refused to sell him the weapon he was after. Wallace then allegedly grabbed a .22 caliber Sig Sauer pistol, two magazines, and ran from the store.

Authorities were contacted, and a rapid response from the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office was able to apprehend Wallace before he made it back to the St. Clair River, in a wooded area. The river averages a mile wide in most spots, and in September, the water temperatures hover between 60 and 70 degrees.

When police found Wallace, according to the indictment filed in a Michigan magistrate court, they found that the crossbow pistol strapped to his back had nine bolts with it. At this point, the stolen handgun was loaded as well. Police say as they pursued him, due to how close the chase was to the schools and the pawnshop's warning that Wallace was armed, the New Haven Elementary School and New Haven High School were forced to go on lockdown.

WDIV reported that a search of Wallace's home had a "huge cache" of ammunition, but no specific reason for it has been found.

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