Blocked access to homeless shelters behind gas-line damage, court told

A Winnipeg man arrested after he intentionally damaged the gas lines of three city homeless shelters was upset after staff at the shelters barred him from entry, a court heard Monday.

Justin Hastings, 31, pleaded guilty to four counts of mischief endangering life. Additional counts of breaking and entering and possession of break-in instruments were stayed by the Crown.

Hastings was armed with a crowbar when he made his way to Siloam Mission on Stanley Street shortly before 10 p.m., Feb. 16, 2024, and smashed the gas lines to the shelter before fleeing, Crown attorney Vuk Mitrovic told provincial court Judge Lisa LaBossiere.

“Police weren’t notified, but Manitoba Hydro was, and the gas had to be turned off,” Mitrovic said. “The building had to be evacuated until the issue was resolved.”

Nearly a month later, Hastings was outside the Salvation Army Booth Centre on Henry Avenue shortly after midnight when he cut the exterior gas line, “causing gas to spew out of the open line,” Mitrovic said.

Minutes later, Hastings was outside the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s Main Street facility, where he used bolt cutters to damage a gas line. From there, he moved on to the Main Street Project, where he broke into a fenced compound and attempted to cut the shelter’s gas line, causing it to crimp.

Shelter staff contacted police who quickly identified Hastings as a suspect and arrested him.

Hastings told police he was “upset with the staff” after he had been barred from some of the shelters, Mitrovic said. “He believed he was cutting the power. He wanted to inconvenience staff members.”

Manitoba Hydro at the time estimated the cost to repair the four gas lines to be $10,000.

Hastings will be sentenced at a later date following the completion of a court-ordered report looking into his background. He remains in custody.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca