The man charged with first-degree murder in the death of a Toronto police sergeant has been formally arraigned and remanded in custody until a court appearance on Jan. 21.

Richard Kachkar, 44, remains in hospital recovering from gunshot wounds, but he is well enough to understand the charges read against him, Toronto police told CTV Toronto on Friday.

Kachkar is under guard by two police officers, CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry reported.

A justice of the peace formally arraigned him Friday by telephone, one day after Police Chief Bill Blair announced that Kachkar had been charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

He remains under a hospital remand, but if his condition improves he could be taken to prison before being taken to court. He could also appear in court via videolink.

Early Wednesday morning, an idling snowplow was stolen and police said it was driven erratically from Regent Park to the intersection of Avenue and Davenport Roads.

At that location, the vehicle struck Sgt. Ryan Russell, 35, who was trying to stop the vehicle.

The chase continued for almost six kilometres to the west. Emergency Task Force officers stopped the vehicle and shot the driver while trying to apprehend him.

Paramedics took Kachkar to St. Michael's Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. He remains under guard.

No allegations against Kachkar have been proven in a court of law.

The suspect

In recent years, Kachkar went from being a family man to a drifter who was spending nights in homeless shelters, according to people who know him.

He is separated from his wife and has two grown children. He was an enigma to the St. Catharines, Ont., residents who worked near a dilapidated commercial building he purchased and apparently lived in.

Born and raised in Edmonton, Kachkar is even a mystery to relatives who lost contact with him over the years.

Police are asking anyone who had contact with Kachkar in the past to come forward, so they can get a clearer picture of their suspect.

Kachkar's cousin and an uncle told CTV that his parents are dead and he has a sister who lives in Vancouver, but he hasn't talked to some of his relatives in years.

After leaving Western Canada, Kachkar settled in St. Catharines, a city near the Canada-U.S. border where his estranged wife and children still reside.

Kachkar owns a small building there on Geneva Avenue, where a local businessman, Andrew Dempsey, saw him as recently as a week and a half ago sitting on a chair in front of the building in the cold.

In March 2009, Kachkar began a 13-week certification course to learn how to drive a transport truck and operate heavy equipment at a school in St. Catharines.

A source told CTV.ca Kachkar failed the course.

The training was offered through Transport Training Centres of Canada's St. Catharines campus, where Kachkar met now-retired teacher Cat Duly-Lisle.

Duly-Lisle told CTV.ca that she taught students, including Kachkar, how to operate equipment such as a backhoe, bulldozer and grader.

She was shocked when she learned of the allegations against her former student.

"I was horrified," Duly-Lisle said.

Duly-Lisle said Kachkar often told tall tales in class. She said he once claimed to own apartment buildings and be a member of the Russian mafia.

"He would always come up with these crazy stories. You knew the guy was full of beans, but you didn't think he was dangerous," Duly-Lisle said. "He used to make me laugh because it was so off the wall."

John Beaudry, president of the Sudbury-based training school, said he is unable to comment on or release information about a specific student due to privacy laws.

Beaudry said all students must pass a medical exam before they begin the course to ensure they are physically and mentally capable to operate transport trucks and heavy equipment.

Recently, Kachkar was known to spend the night at a homeless shelter at St. Catharines' Southridge Community Church.

In the hours before Wednesday's rampage, Kachkar spent the night at a shelter at Good Shepherd Ministries on Queen Street in Toronto.

Adrienne Urquhart, a spokeswoman for the facility, said Tuesday was the first time Kachkar had stayed at the shelter.

An 11-year police veteran, Russell was a 35-year-old married father of a two-year-old boy.

His funeral service is being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement released by the police service on Thursday, Russell's family thanked everyone for their "outpouring of love and support, thoughts and prayers" in recent days.

"The warm, heartfelt comments bring much comfort to our hearts," the family said.

Ontario's special investigations unit is investigating the officer-involved shooting, while Toronto police are investigating the injuries and damage caused by the snowplow.

Police announced Thursday that Kachkar is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. First-degree murder, the most serious charge in Canada's Criminal Code, is automatically laid when the victim is an on-duty police officer, regardless of whether the homicide is planned or not.

A conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.