Shrubsall assumes name of fictional saint

A criminial who's in prison as a dangerous offender has applied to change his name.

William Chandler Shrubsall will be known as Ethan Simon Templar MacLeod, once the paperwork is complete.

The character Simon Templar was a gentleman thief in a 1920s novel -- and subsequent television and film productions.

Shrubsall is currently in Springhill Penitentiary as a dangerous offender.

He has used at least five aliases since arriving in Nova Scotia where he's been convicted of a variety of violent sex crimes.

Before he moved to the province, Shrubsall murdered his mother.