Eric Wildman was the target of a Canada-wide arrest warrant and manhunt in June 2021. Wanted in the disappearance and murder of his neighbour, 40-year-old Clifford Joseph, he was found by police in at a house in Rossmore.

A jury found Mr. Wildman guilty last week. He was tried at the Picton Superior Court for the attempted murder of an OPP officer, one of nine who found him at the home on Massassauga Road.

Mr. Wildman was asleep at 3:06 a.m. on June 18 when police attempted to enter the home at 444 Massasauga Road with a warrant for his arrest. He fired six bullets from a Glock 90 pistol into the wall beside the entryway.

Mr. Wildman and the home’s owner, John Leonard, emerged and surrendered only three hours later, after a tense negotiation.

Mr. Wildman remained expressionless inside the prisoner’s box as the jury foreperson confirmed the verdict to Justice Patrick Hurley.

He was also found guilty of possession of a restricted firearm with readily available ammunition.

Mr. Wildman is currently wanted in Manitoba on a charge of first-degree murder. He is expected to be transported there on Saturday for a trial that will start in January 2025.

His first trial in the case of the disappearance and murder of Joseph Clifford ended in a mistrial in 2023, after Mr. Wildman’s lawyer took ill and had to withdraw from proceedings. 

The case was notorious in the summer of 2021, when Mr. Wildman fled to Prince Edward County, only to find himself shooting at the nine police officers who came to apprehend him. 

During cross examination by Crown Attorney Adam Zegouras, Mr. Wildman admitted he travelled the 2,000 km between Winnipeg and Prince Edward County with an unloaded Glock 90, three boxes of ammunition and two extra magazines stored in a rented vehicle’s centre console.

When he arrived at the home of a family friend, he said, he loaded the gun and put it in his pocket. Mr. Wildman said he was afraid for his life. Someone had set fire to his home and shop in Manitoba two weeks earlier. 

He was fast asleep when the OPP’s Emergency Response Team burst open the door and deployed a 170 decibel flash bang grenade in the entryway. Mr. Wildman thought it was a gun.

He said he thought it was a home invasion, and that he  fired six warning volleys into the wall by the front door.

During his closing submission, the prosecutor said he doubted that explanation.

“He drives 2,000 km from Manitoba where he believes there’s an arsonist who wants to do him harm, and only upon arriving in Prince Edward County does he load his restricted firearm and carry it around in his pocket,” Mr. Zegouras said. “How can anyone from Manitoba have a clue where he was?”

Mr. Zegouras argued it was far more likely the suspect was awoken by the OPP, moved behind a couch further inside the home, and opened fire. The line of sight, cluster of bullet fragments, and scatterings of shell casings collected by the forensics team confirmed Mr. Wildman wasn’t in a recliner, as he claimed, when he fired his gun six times. 

“This evidence indicates Mr. Wildman had time to get up and move and that brings about an entirely new question doesn’t it? It’s not just awaking from a deep coma-like sleep and making a split decision.”

Mr. Wildman’s defence, Peter Zaduk, told the jury it was not enough to convict Eric Wildman if they thought he was trying to scare police, or even if they thought he was reckless when he decided to fire in their direction.

“In order to convict him of attempted murder, you have to determine Eric Wildman actually intended to cause someone to die. Not just cause them harm or scare them. That the intention to kill actually crystallized in his brain and he actually decided to end someone’s life,” Mr. Zudak said. He added that the shots were fired in a few crucial seconds filled with confusion, emotion, fear, and disorientation.

During defence testimony, psychologist Dr. Kent Somers testified Mr. Wildman demonstrated an Intellectual and Developmental Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder. He was susceptible to poor judgment, and could easily have jumped to conclusions.

In his summation, Mr. Zudak asked what went through Eric Wildman’s mind in those couple of seconds when he heard a loud noise and a flash and then saw the end of a gun barrel in an entryway.

“Did he fully appreciate what was going on? Was he able to make a decision to actually kill someone or even cause them harm?” Mr. Zudak asked. “It’s my position that someone like Eric could not effectively make such a decision beyond these chaotic circumstances. He was acting more on reflex than rational thought.”

Mr. Wildman’s trial for first-degree murder in Manitoba was not admissible evidence in the jury’s deliberations. 

The second trial on the Manitoba murder charges begins January 13 and is expected to last 6-8 weeks. Sentencing is not expected to take place before the end of that trial. 

His lawyer argued that regardless of the outcome in the Manitoba case, Mr. Wildman should face sentencing in Ontario within an appropriate time frame.