Domestic dispute closes highway 7
Motel evacuated, 56-year-old man arrested
GUYSBOROUGH -- Highway 7 at Port Dufferin was closed for several hours Monday morning while RCMP responded to a domestic dispute. RCMP members, including the Emergency Response Team from Halifax, were at the Marquis of Dufferin Inn/Motel in the village beside the owners' residence where a domestic dispute had been reported and a man was inside with a firearm.
RCMP were on the scene starting at midnight. The highway was closed from about 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. They arrested 56-year-old David Eugene Criss, who lives at the home and is co-owner of the Marquis of Dufferin with his wife, Patricia.
Criss faces charges of assault, pointing a firearm, possession of a restricted weapon, and unsafe storage of a firearm. He appeared before a justice in New Glasgow Monday afternoon.
Neighbours who know the couple said they were shocked by the incident.
"They moved here a couple of years ago and they seemed to fit into the community quite well," neighbour Hugh Schofield told The Journal Tuesday. His home is about a quarter mile away from the motel.
"They got along with everyone very well and they did a tremendous amount of work to their motel," he said.
Barry Wilkie said he and his wife were friends of the Crisses "and it came as much a shock to me as it did to everyone else."
