Suspect arrested in vehicle vandalism wave

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This article was published 08/02/2022 (1361 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police have arrested a suspect accused of smashing dozens of car windows in the Fort Garry and St. James neighbourhoods since December.

Rows of parked vehicles, sometimes as many as 10 at a time, were targeted seemingly at random but in a similar manner. Major crimes investigators, who got involved after police identified patterns in the incidents, believe the suspect acted alone and did not know the property owners, police said Tuesday.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Dani McKinnon said the spate was unusual.

“It’s an exorbitant amount,” she said. “It’s very typical that you would get, for example, five reports in an evening… But dozens occurring over several months and done in the same fashion is what made this scenario different.”

On Sunday, officers reported fresh damage to a string of vehicles parked in the King Edward neighbourhood. Investigators located a suspect vehicle with the help of the police helicopter.

Officers conducted a traffic stop and a 22-year-old man was taken into custody, police said.

The man, who was released on an undertaking, faces 130 charges of mischief to property. His name was not been released.

Angered area residents had compiled home surveillance footage and reported the incidents en masse.

Stephanie Roldan-Gutierrez, 29, was among those dealing with the rash of vandalism. On Tuesday, she said people in her Fort Garry neighbourhood are cautiously relieved.

“We’re pretty happy that the person got caught, but… people are left with broken windows, so it’s kind of bittersweet,” she said, noting some residents are still concerned more than one person could have been involved.

The driver’s side window of Roldan-Gutierrez’s vehicle was smashed overnight Jan. 3 while parked near Clarence Avenue.

It was the first time her car was targeted, but one neighbour had windows smashed multiple times — most recently, the day after he had one replaced, she said.

“(Another) neighbour down our street, his two windows got smashed, he’s retired. He was to pay his deductible and he can’t afford to, so his car is just sitting there with two broken windows,” Roldan Gutierrez said.

“So it’s the aftermath of everything, I think people are still feeling it.”

She said the police response was frustrating: “It was ridiculous how long it took and I just feel like maybe they only did something about it because there was so many calls being made. The response was just so slow.”

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera