News briefs for Thursday, July 16, 2026

Man arrested in Furby Street vehicle vandalism

12:35 PM

A man accused of randomly smashing the windows or windshields of nearly two dozen parked vehicles on Furby Street near Sargent Avenue on Wednesday morning has been arrested.

Winnipeg Police Service patrol officers were flagged down by someone in the area around 6:30 a.m., but the suspect had already left. Officers spoke to several victims and looked at home video surveillance that showed a man using a chain to damage the parked vehicles.

Just before 9:30 a.m., police found a man who matched the suspect’s description at Rupert Avenue and Main Street and arrested him. Officers found a chain in his possession.

Phillip Charles Hastings, 30, has been charged with 22 counts of mischief under $5,000, possession of a weapon and a probation order breach.

Hastings has a lengthy record of criminal convictions in Manitoba, dating to 2017, including several assaults, thefts, a robbery, weapons offences, drug possession and 17 past breaches of court orders.

Youth to raise money for CancerCare with lemonade stands this weekend

12:07 PM

Youth will raise funds at lemonade stands across the province this weekend for CancerCare Manitoba Foundation.

The fundraising program, dubbed Lemonade Stands for Hope, is meant to give youngsters the tools and support to set up the stands and to raise money for a good cause.

The program will run from Friday through Sunday. The money raised will be used by CancerCare to support local cancer research and patient care.

Dozens of young people have agreed to set up the stands, which can be found on an online map. 

Man, 41, arrested after sexual assault of teen girl

11:33 AM

Winnipeg police have arrested a 41-year-old man accused of luring a teenage girl on social media and then sexually assaulting her last month.

Winnipeg Police Service patrol officers were called to Donald Street and River Avenue on the night of June 21, where the 16-year-old girl told investigators that she had met a man earlier in June and began speaking with him over social media.

On June 21, the suspect met with the teenager and some of her friends, gave them alcohol and drove them around the city, police said on Thursday.

At some point, police said, the man sexually assaulted the girl. He then dropped them off and police were later called.

Police counter-exploitation investigators took over the case.

On Monday, investigators arrested Mandeep Singh, 41, and charged him with sexual assault, sexual exploitation, luring a person under 18 via telecommunications and obtaining sexual services from a person under 18.

He was let out on a release order. He was no prior convictions in Manitoba, court records show.

Semi-truck rear-ends tractor in highway collision: RCMP

9:54 AM

A stretch of highway east of Swan River was closed Wednesday night, after a semi-truck collided with a tractor hauling farming equipment.

Mounties responded to the incident on Highway 10, near Road 139 West, in the Municipality of Minitonas-Bowsman, around 10:45 p.m. Investigators determined the semi-truck had rear-ended the tractor, which was hauling a disk harrow and travelling east on the highway, Manitoba RCMP said Thursday.

The driver of the semi-truck, a 27-year-old man from Winnipeg, and the driver of the tractor, a 17-year-old from Minitonas, were not injured. The semi-truck was heavily damaged and blocking both lanes on the highway. Members of a local fire department remained on scene until it was towed away, RCMP said.

Manitoba Highways announced the road had reopened in a statement shortly before 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.