Man arrested while hiding among oyster cages facing 27 charges

A man arrested while hiding among oyster cages in the water off western P.E.I., after evading police from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning, has been charged with 27 offences over four jurisdictions.

Jerman Jah Payne, 29, faces charges that include theft of a vehicle and multiple counts of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and flight from police.

Summerside Police Services had obtained an arrest warrant for Payne after he was alleged to have stolen a 2015 Dodge Journey in that city.

Witnesses reported the vehicle being driven dangerously in various locations around Prince County for several hours before the driver crashed the vehicle Monday morning.

Payne is thought to have stolen at least one other vehicle — a Ford F150 pickup truck — to flee from police for a short time after the Journey crashed. Then he was reported to be on foot in the Roxbury area.

He was eventually arrested by RCMP, with the help of Summerside police, in the Cascumpec area.

RCMP Cpl. Ellen Peters says Payne discarded his clothing and his among oyster cages in an attempt to throw off police dogs. (Alex MacIsaac/CBC)

RCMP said Payne discarded his clothing in an attempt to throw off police dogs, then got into the ocean and hid among oyster cages.

A fisherman passing in his boat saw them there and flagged police, and police also used the Tyne Valley Fire Services boat as they apprehended the suspect, said RCMP Cpl. Ellen Peters.

"He ended up being arrested out on the water."

RCMP said in a social media post on Tuesday that the series of incidents did not meet the criteria for issuing an Alert Ready message to warn the public, although Summerside Police had said in a release on Monday that Payne should be considered dangerous.

Payne, who is of no fixed address, has been remanded in custody. He appeared in court Tuesday morning and will be back at a later date.