News briefs for September 12, 2019

Valour FC fell 3-1 to Forge FC on Thursday night at IG Field. 

The team from Hamilton scored all three of their goals in the first half. 18-year-old Winnipeg native Tyler Attardo scored for Valour in the 70th minute. With the loss, Valour is now 3-6-3 in the Canadian Premier League’s fall season. Forge improved to 7-1-2 and are now in first place. 

Valour’s next match comes Sunday on the road against York9 FC.

Cameron Ogilvie, the federal candidate for the Conservative Party in the Winnipeg North riding, stepped down Thursday at his party’s request after "discriminatory posts came to light," per a release.

The Conservatives say the posts – the targets of which the party didn’t specify – were withheld from them during the candidate vetting process, as Ogilvie deleted his accounts.

Ogilvie "was asked immediately to step down as soon (the Conservative Party) became aware of the posts."

Ogilvie’s LinkedIn page lists his most recent work experience as "Candidate-Conservative Party of Canada," dated June 2019 to present. His Twitter account has been deleted, but his Facebook and LinkedIn are still active.

The party says a new candidate will be named.

A 42-year-old man was arrested Tuesday by the Winnipeg Police Service’s Financial Crimes Unit for what it describes as three "pickpocket fraud" incidents.

The incidents occurred between July 31 and Aug. 7.

Police say the accused is believed to have observed elderly shoppers at retail establishments as they entered their PINs while paying with debit or credit cards. Then, the shoppers were followed out and distracted as the accused took their purses or wallets. Using the PINs, transactions were then made or money withdrawn, police say.

Elvis Stoian has been charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, three counts of fraud, three counts of identity theft, four counts of fraudulent credit card use, and three counts of possession of property obtained through crime valued under $5,000. He was detained in custody.

The Winnipeg Police Service is investigating an attempted kidnapping after a 10-year-old girl alleged she’d been approached and grabbed Tuesday by two people who tried to force her into a vehicle near a Transcona stripmall.

The incident occurred near Kildare Avenue East and Wayota Street.

According to police, the person who’s alleged to have grabbed the girl is 16. He’s described as black, tall, with an average build, and wearing a red-maroon sweater with a stripe. The other person is described as Indigenous or black with no further description, while the vehicle was described as a black or blue SUV or truck.

Winnipeggers who need a cheap place to buy a window, toilet or furniture — and want to help a low-income family own a new home at the same time — have a new place to shop.

Habitat for Humanity’s third ReStore officially opened on Thursday at 1565 Inkster Blvd. It joins two others on Archibald Street and Ellice Avenue.

“I talk a lot about building our city for the future – and Habitat for Humanity has been doing that since their inception," Mayor Brian Bowman said at the ribbon cutting.  “I encourage Winnipeggers to come here and spend a lot of money on a great cause.”

The ReStore outlets, which started in Winnipeg in 1991, have grown to more than 100 across the country and 1,000 around the world.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont says he would like to see the Manitoba Legislative Assembly change its rules around official party status — which currently requires four seats — to ensure the legislature isn’t limited to two party options. 

The Liberals lost official party status on Tuesday, falling from four seats to three, and therefore losing perks like increased funding and staff. 

"One of the things, quite frankly, is we’re going to see if we can appeal the idea of what an official party is, because it’s completely arbitrary. In Saskatchewan, it’s two (seats). In Alberta, they have 87 seats and it’s (four). It varies from province to province," Lamont said Thursday.

Lamont pointed out all three of his party’s elected MLAs — himself in St. Boniface, Jon Gerrard in River Heights and Cindy Lamoureux in Tyndall Park — ran under the same banner and would want to be recognized as members of the same party.

"So the argument that we are not an official party, I think, is the result of a regulation. So we’re going to see about whether we can challenge that or introduce a bill," he said, adding: "I don’t know if the NDP would go for it, or the PCs."

The Winnipeg Jets have signed top-pairing defenceman Josh Morrissey to an eight-year contract extension on the eve of training camp.

Morrissey, 24, will be paid $50 million over the duraction of his new deal, which comes to an average annual value of $6.25 million.

The Calgary native had six goals and 25 assists in 59 regular-season games last season. He was drafted in the first roundm, 13th overall, of the 2013 NHL draft.

Morrissey’s current deal, which was set to expire after this coming season, pays him $3.15 million per year.

Morrissey and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will speak on the deal later this morning at Bell MTS Iceplex.

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After a fire broke out in a vacant house on Kate Street early Thursday, no one was injured but a neighbouring rooming house had to be evacuated.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to the fire in the two and a half storey house at 2:33 a.m., and fought it until bringing it under control almost two hours later.

Residents in the rooming house were evacuated as a precaution and allowed back in after the fire was put out.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and no damage estimate is available at this time.
 

Winnipeg police are investigating a shooting incident downtown.

Officers have closed off the area around the back lane between the 200 block of Smith and Garry streets.

Further information is expected to be released later this morning. There was no information available on whether there were injuries.

A high-risk sex offender who was subject to a Canada-wide arrest warrant has been arrested, police say.

The Winnipeg Police Service said Thursday Curtis Leroy George, 27, had been arrested. 

George is described as an Indigenous man who is 5’7" and 117 lbs.

Police are warning Winnipeggers to stay alert once a convicted sex offender who police say is considered “high risk to re-offend” is released from the Headingley Correction Centre Thursday.

Winston George Thomas, 42, has a lengthy criminal record that includes three convictions for sexual assault, aggravated assault and assault on a peace officer. He has repeatedly broken probation and recognizance orders.

“Thomas participated in some sex offender programming but is still considered a high risk to re-offend in a seuxal and/or sexually violent manner against all females, both adults and children,” the Winnipeg Police Service said in a release. 

On Thursday, Thomas is being released after serving his latest sentences for theft, resisting arrest and breach of probation. Police say he is expected to take up residence in Winnipeg while under supervised probation until Dec. 13, 2020. He is subject to a lifetime weapon ban. 

Thomas is described as a 5’10", 234 lbs., Indigenous man with black hair and brown eyes. He has a scar on the left side of his face and tiger tattoo on his right arm.

Police ask the public call the Manitoba Integrated High-Risk Sex Offender Unit at 204-984-1888 or Winnipeg Police at 204-986-6222 with any information.