News briefs for Tuesday, July 21, 2026

IIU investigates after man on scooter collides with cruiser

4:34 PM

Manitoba’s police watchdog is investigating after a 50-year-old man on a scooter was seriously injured after he collided with a Winnipeg Police Service cruiser.

Winnipeg Police Service officers, with a warrant out for the man’s arrest, located him on the 300 block of Lodge Avenue in the Silver Heights area on Monday evening, a Tuesday news release said.

As officers tried to arrest him, he mounted a scooter and tried to ride away, police said. He ended up colliding with a WPS vehicle and was injured. He was taken to hospital in unstable condition.

The man was later charged with multiple drug offences and resisting a peace officer.

Officers seized methamphetamine, cocaine and cash from him.

The man was detained in custody and the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba has taken over the investigation.

Man charged in string of grocery store thefts

1:54 PM

A man is facing nearly two dozen theft charges after a series of thefts from grocery stores in May and June.

The incidents include:

• May 30: Five suspects stole cases of coffee tins valued at $1,340 from a grocery store on the 8000 block of Dufferin Avenue
• June 7: Five suspects stole food products valued at $300 from a grocery store on the 800 block of Keewatin Street
• June 12: A suspect stole meat product valued at $240 from a grocery store on the 500 block of Mountain Avenue
• June 14: A suspect stole meat product valued at $80 from a grocery store on the 500 block of Mountain Avenue
• June 15: A suspect stole coffee product valued at $310 from a grocery store on the 1600 block of Main Street
• June 23: A suspect stole meat product valued at $320 from a grocery store on the 1600 block of Main Street
• June 29: A suspect stole meat product valued at $200 from a grocery store on the 200 block of Marion Street

Most incidents were captured on store video surveillance and reported to police. Investigators identified and linked Nicholas Paul Ohryn, 37, as a suspect. Investigators later learned Ohryn wanted in connection with twenty other retail thefts.

Police arrested Ohryn on July 20 and charged him with 23 counts of theft under $5,000, two counts of robbery, and failing to comply with a release order. He remains in custody.

Man in custody after attempted carjacking

10:53 AM

A man is facing robbery charges after assaulting a man while trying to steal his vehicle Monday evening.

Just before 6 p.m. police were driving southbound on Salter Street at Selkirk Avenue when they saw a carjacking in progress. They observed a man assaulting the victim, a man in his 70s, and attempting to pull him out of the vehicle.

The suspect fled and officers chased after him on foot, eventually catching him on the 400 block of Flora Avenue. Officers used a Taser on the man during the arrest.

Officers later learned the victim was driving northbound on Salter when the suspect jumped in front of his vehicle, forcing him to stop. The suspect assaulted the victim through the open driver window and attempted to pull him out of the vehicle. The victim suffered minor injuries but did not require further medical attention.

Dustin Tony Vincent Bouchard, 32, remains in custody.

Teen charged in cat killing

10:50 AM

A 16-year-old youth is facing animal cruelty charges after a cat was stuffed into a plastic bag and then killed, Winnipeg police say.

Officers were called to the Chinatown neighbourhood at about 9:30 p.m. Monday after receiving a report a youth was attacking a cat with a knife, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Tuesday.

Shortly after, officers found a youth holding a knife in the 600 block of Main Street. They located a dead cat nearby, police said.

Police said officers later learned the youth had put the cat inside a plastic bag before killing it.

The 16-year-old has been charged with killing or injuring animals, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, possession of a weapon, and failing to comply with release and sentence orders.

The youth was detained in custody.

Search for missing boys in Nutimik Lake enters fourth day

10:44 AM

Search-and-rescue crews are continuing their efforts to locate two boys, ages 10 and 13, who went missing in Nutimik Lake last week and are presumed drowned.

RCMP officers from the Lac du Bonnet detachment, HEART and the Manitoba RCMP Marine Unit are continuing their search of the water as well as the shoreline with the use of drones.

RCMP are asking all boaters in the area report anything that may help locate the two children, including clothing, personal belongings, footwear or any other items in the water or along the shoreline that appear out of place.

The boys, identified as brothers Aaron Au Ramirez, 13, and Maximo Au Ramirez, 10, were visiting Whiteshell Provincial Park with their father and some friends when they entered the water near the Sturgeon Falls Trail Saturday afternoon.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lac du Bonnet RCMP at 204-345-8685.

Fifth suspect charged in catalytic converter thefts

10:09 AM

Winnipeg police have arrested a fifth suspect in a rash of catalytic converter thefts between April and June.

Jay Evan Heckert, 33, was arrested by the property crime unit Monday, police said in a news release. He is charged with two counts each of theft under $5,000 and mischief to property under $5,000.

Heckert was released on an undertaking to appear in court at a later date.

Four suspects were arrested in June. Police allege the group is responsible for 13 catalytic converter thefts in the city.