Doctor found ways to assault female patients: Crown

Family doctor Arcel Bissonnette used his position of “trust and authority” to create opportunities to sexually assault five female patients during medical exams, prosecutors told a Manitoba judge Friday.

“He conducted intimate physical exams that surprised and shocked these women,” Crown attorney Patrice Miniely told King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond.

“They did not understand what was happening because he did not explain what he was doing,” Miniely said. “In this way he was able to create space to commit sexual assault and at the same time create uncertainty in the complainants’ minds about what was happening to them.”

Miniely’s comments were made during a “similar fact” application by the Crown. If accepted, Bond could use the evidence of each alleged victim to corroborate the evidence of the others.

Shooting death nets 18-year sentence

The first time Leslie McLennan met Deena Marwick was in a junior high art class when Deena threw an eraser at the back of her head.

“I heard the loudest laugh I had ever heard in my life, and a huge snort,” McLennan recounted more than 30 years later, in a victim impact statement read out Thursday in a Winnipeg courtroom.

McLennan, who had a troubled home life, said she had planned to kill herself that day. Instead, she found a new friend she would come to love like a sister, and through her, a new family to call her own.

“She was the coolest kid I ever met,” McLennan said. “I never told you this sissy, but you saved my life on this day. I should have told you, now I never can.”

Doctor accused of sex assault testifies exams were consistent with training

A Manitoba doctor on trial accused of sexually assaulting five patients testified Thursday his examinations were all consistent with his medical training.

Arcel Bissonnette provided a detailed review of his examination practices, but admitted he did not always have an independent recollection of the specific examinations at issue in the trial.

“All I can tell you is my usual practices, my usual procedures, and I can’t think of any reason why I would deviate from that,” Bissonnette told court, referring to the pelvic examination of one alleged victim.

Five women have testified Bissonnette performed medical examinations they say amounted to sexual assaults. Three of the women say they saw or may have seen Bissonnette with an erection during or following the examinations.

Convicted killer launches expletive-laden rant at judge after sentencing

A Winnipeg man sentenced to life in prison for his leading role in a brutal, execution-style murder railed at a judge Monday after he tied him to the alleged rape of a trial witness.

“I just want to know why you keep bringing up the rape (of the witness) and saying I had my friends rape her?” Jesse Daher asked after King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne sentenced him to life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years in the October 2020 torture and slaying of 29-year-old Mohamed Mohiadin Ahmed.

“You guys didn’t even fact check it, you are just taking her word for it. I had nothing to do with it,” Daher said. “You are just making more f—-king problems for me by bringing that up…. F—k you, you know that’s f—king bullshit.”

Defence lawyer Mike Cook intervened and spoke quietly to Daher before telling court: “I said to Mr. Daher I think he has made his point and we can move on.”

Girlfriend testifies about slaying victim’s plan to steal winch, drug use

Clifford Joseph disappeared hours after he told his girlfriend he planned to steal a winch from his neighbour’s property — the same neighbour who’s on trial, accused of killing him, jurors heard Tuesday.

“There was a conversation (in the afternoon) about Clifford going to the property next door to steal a winch,” Cristin Wise testified. “He never said when he was going to do it.”

Eric Wildman, 36, is on trial for first-degree murder in the June 7, 2021, killing.

Twelve years for racist slaying of cabbie

A mentally ill man convicted in the racist slaying of a Winnipeg cab driver has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years.

Okoth Obeing, 23, was convicted after trial of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 44-year-old Balvir Toor in March 2020.

“The killing was senseless, vicious, and brutal,” King’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey said in a 27-page written decision released Friday.

Court heard evidence Obeing had a hatred of people of South Asian descent and a dislike of taxi drivers who “disrespected” him by asking for payment upfront.

Reinstated appeal of sentence sought

A Manitoba man, whose three-year prison sentence for weapon and drug offences highlighted how young Indigenous offenders are often treated more harshly by the courts, is fighting to have his appeal heard after succumbing to the advice of “jailhouse counsel” who told him contesting his sentence could mean more time behind bars.

Ethan Wildcat, 21, was sentenced to prison last November. A month later, he filed a notice of appeal. In March, Wildcat abandoned his appeal.

Now Wildcat wants to reinstate his appeal, saying until recently he didn’t have a proper understanding of the process.

“At times, I have trouble understanding things and I often listen to what others tell me to my detriment,” Wildcat said in a court affidavit.

Life sentence, no parole for 15 years for 2020 Lake Manitoba murder

Phoenix Maytwayashing couldn’t take no for an answer and Monica Chippeway paid for it with her life, a judge said Wednesday, before sentencing the 23-year-old man to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 15 years.

Chippeway, 35, died March 26, 2020, inside her Lake Manitoba First Nation home, following a frenzied knife attack witnessed by her young daughter.

Maytwayashing was convicted of second-degree murder after a trial last year.

He never denied killing Chippeway, his on-again, off-again girlfriend, but argued at trial he was so intoxicated by drugs and alcohol he had no memory of the attack and should be convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Judge gives man 12 years for attacks on women

A Winnipeg man convicted of violent robberies that targeted female escort workers has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

“These were planned attacks that targeted vulnerable women,” King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne said Tuesday at a sentencing hearing for the 36-year-old offender.

A publication ban prohibits the naming of the man, as it might identify his victims.

The man was convicted after trial of three counts of robbery, three counts of choking to overcome resistance and one count of assault causing bodily harm in connection to three attacks over 16 days in January 2021. He arranged to meet two women in their hotel room and the third at her home after contacting them on a website used by sex trade workers.

Defence lawyer’s illness leads to adjournment in doctor’s sex assault trial

The trial of a Manitoba doctor accused of sexually assaulting five patients was adjourned Tuesday before any testimony could be heard after a member of his defence team informed court he was ill.

The trial of Dr. Arcel Bissonnette, which has heard testimony from five former patients, was set to hear evidence from a Toronto medical expert about appropriate examination protocols.

Lawyer Marty Minuk, one of three lawyers defending Bissonnette, was specifically tasked with cross-examining Dr. Kimberly Wintemute, but was not in a position to do so Tuesday due to health reasons.

Defence lawyer Josh Weinstein asked that the trial be adjourned until Wednesday for an update on Minuk’s status, telling King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond he and co-counsel Lisa LaBossiere were not able to take over for Minuk.

‘Not something a doctor does’; former patient tells Ste. Anne MD’s sex-assault trial about traumatic internal exam

A woman who visited Dr. Arcel Bissonnette when she was pregnant said she was left “numb and scared” by a prenatal examination she alleged was clearly sexual.

“It was not something I had ever experienced that wasn’t sexual in nature,” the woman testified Monday. “It’s something you do with a partner, not something a doctor does.”

Bissonnette, 63, is on trial accused of sexually assaulting five female patients during examinations at the Ste. Anne Hospital and Seine Medical Centre.

Fourth woman testifies in trial of Ste. Anne doctor

A Manitoba woman says she “wrote off” unsettling examinations by her family doctor as the product of “old school” medical procedures before she realized what he was doing wasn’t right.

“After the last exam I was mad, because I knew it was wrong,” the woman testified Friday at the trial of Dr. Arcel Bissonnette.

She is the fourth of five women prosecutors allege Bissonnette sexually assaulted during examinations at the Ste. Anne Hospital and Seine Medical Centre.

The woman in court Friday testified about three examinations during which she alleged Bissonnette inserted a speculum into her rectum without advance warning or her consent.

Forgiveness ‘most powerful gift’: pair sentenced for 2020 murder

Nairne Chapais was murdered in an ambush shooting outside his Selkirk Avenue home for reasons that have never been explained.

But as grieving family members continue to struggle with the 23-year-old’s May 2020 death, an uncle has offered two of his convicted killers a message of forgiveness.

“The most powerful gift I have received since this incident is the act of forgiveness,” Vernon Gott said in a victim impact statement provided to court, noting Chapais’s sister died by suicide in the wake of his death, while other family members turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with their loss.

“What I have learned about myself is that it is better to forgive so I can carry on in my own life. If I hold onto the resentment it will kill me, and I hope that when you meet the Creator, he will greet you with open arms.”

Court of appeal upholds acquittal in 2019 stabbing death

Manitoba’s highest court has upheld the acquittal of a Winnipeg woman charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a 25-year-old mother of four.

Shaylynne Hunter died May 25, 2019, after she was stabbed 21 times outside her Simcoe home.

Diane Tamara King, 22, and co-accused Tasha Laquette, 26, stood trial for the killing in 2021, and were acquitted after a judge ruled King was defending Laquette and herself when she stabbed Hunter.

The Crown appealed King’s acquittal, arguing King’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey misapplied the legal test for self-defence.

Guilty plea marks offender’s second manslaughter conviction in 15 years

Four months into a trial plagued by repeated stops and starts, a Winnipeg man has admitted responsibility in the death of 35-year-old Danielle Harper, marking his second homicide conviction in 15 years.

Silas Ammaklak, 53, stood trial for second-degree murder beginning in December, and last week entered a guilty plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Ammaklak, who is originally from Nunavut, was always prepared to admit to manslaughter in Harper’s killing, but it was not until recently the Crown was ready to accept his plea, defence lawyer Saheel Zaman told Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond on April 14.

“Our position was we were prepared to resolve the matter for a manslaughter, but we can’t do that if the Crown doesn’t accept it,” Zaman said.

Five months trafficking drugs nets three years in prison

Convicted drug courier Jeremiah Alcera may not have commanded the level of trust prosecutors alleged his drug overlords had in the criminal “novice,” but it was only a matter of time before he would have risen in the ranks, a judge said.

Alcera, 25, was one of 11 people arrested in February 2022 following a joint Winnipeg Police Service and Surrey RCMP investigation that targeted an interprovincial cocaine trafficking network called “The Company.” It had netted $11.5 million in seized drugs, cash and property.

Killer’s father outs witnesses as ‘rats’

When Tron Gamblin took to Facebook and outed two women whose testimony in court helped convict his son of murder, he condemned them to a lifetime of fear and “looking over their shoulder,” a court was told this week.

Man who targeted escorts deserves 13 years: Crown

Prosecutors are seeking a 13-year prison sentence for a Winnipeg man guilty of a string of violent robberies in which female escort workers were targeted.

Judge hands lottery-ticket thief $425-K ‘life sentence’

A Manitoba woman has been ordered to repay $425,000 for lottery tickets she stole while working at a Dugald gas bar, a punishment a judge likened to a “life sentence.” Cynthia Hallick was assistant manager at the Sportsman’s Stop Esso when, over the course of four years, she stole thousands of scratch-and-win lottery tickets from her employer.

Killer tells judge he ‘will always love’ woman he stabbed to death in 2020

As he faces a life sentence in prison, Phoenix Maytwayashing said he “will always love” the woman he killed after she rebuffed his efforts to reconcile.

Man admits criminal responsibility, sentenced to six years in prison

A Bloodvein First Nation man who was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea for beating another man to death with a baseball bat admitted criminal responsibility for the killing Tuesday and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Trial begins for fatal 2020 rush hour stabbing

Ryan Kelly Legary died July 23, 2020, after he was stabbed in the chest following a dispute in the parking lot of a Winnipeg restaurant.

Woman on run for 16 years sentenced to eight months

Iwona Rutkowska disappeared nearly 17 years ago, just days before she was to stand trial in Winnipeg for threatening to kill a man.

Mountie sues RCMP after being bitten by police dog

A Manitoba Mountie is suing the RCMP after he was bitten by one of its own service dogs.

Man released from jail after murder conviction overturned

A Winnipeg man, whose conviction for killing a man when he was 16 was overturned on appeal, has been sentenced on a lesser charge and ordered released from jail.

Murder conviction in ‘rage-fuelled’ 2020 slaying of taxi driver

A Winnipeg man who was in the grip of bipolar disorder when he fatally stabbed a city taxi driver 17 times has been found guilty of second-degree murder.

Lawyers for Okoth Obeing had argued he was so mentally ill, he should be found be found not criminally responsible for killing 44-year-old Balvir Toor on March 19, 2020.

‘Not a momentary lapse’: judge sends man to prison after fatal drunk collision

A Manitoba man responsible for a fatal highway collision while “significantly intoxicated” on booze and meth has been sentenced to 81/2 years in prison.

Province, Winnipeg police seek court dismissal of proposed vax class action

The province of Manitoba and Winnipeg Police Service are seeking a court order to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit launched last year in response to the police service’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Man found guilty of attacking, robbing sex workers during two-week spree

A Winnipeg man has been found guilty of a series of violent robberies that preyed upon female escort workers.

Devin Schwark, 35, stood trial in January accused of robbing eight escorts in early 2021. In a written decision released this week, King’s Bench Justice Ken Champagne convicted Schwark of assaulting and robbing three victims over 16 days.

Charges involving five additional alleged victims were either dismissed or stayed by the end of Schwark’s three-week trial.

Seven years for ‘life-altering’ hammer attack

The man who beat a Good Samaritan nine times in the head with a hammer so forcefully it became lodged in the victim’s skull has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Judge delivers life sentence in ‘senseless tragedy’ fatal stabbing

Fighting for his life, 60-year-old Owen Pruden wrested a garden-shear blade from an attacker only to have a stranger jump in and fatally stab him with it, a court has heard.

Jeremiah Christian Zglobicki, 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the August 2021 killing and was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years, the minimum period allowed under the Criminal Code.

Lawyer off hook for taking down client’s Facebook account

A disciplinary panel has found a former Manitoba lawyer not guilty of obstructing justice after he admitted to deactivating the Facebook account of a client who had been arrested on firearm charges.

No parole option for 12 years for role in ‘horrific’ 2020 murder

A once-aspiring teacher has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years in the grisly slaying of a Bolivian immigrant.

Chelsea O’Hanley, 26, is one of four people sentenced to prison terms in the June 2020 murder of Gerhard Reimer-Wiebe, who was tortured for days in a Winnipeg home before he was killed and his body was burned and buried on the edge of a field in Portage la Prairie.

Admitted killer convicted of murder in fatal stabbing

A Winnipeg woman attacked by a stranger for no reason on a North End street needed a “hero” and Tre Pelletier-Monkman was the one to answer the call, a defence lawyer told jurors at Pelletier-Monkman’s second-degree murder trial Tuesday.

Stabbing intended to stop attack on woman, not kill her assailant, accused in murder trial testifies

A Winnipeg man on trial for murder admits stabbing stranger Adam Laforrest to death on a North End street, but was only trying to save a woman from dying at the victim’s hands, jurors were told Thursday.

Adult time sought for Ex shooter

Justice officials will seek an adult sentence for a Winnipeg teen who has admitted responsibility for the daylight shooting at the Red River Exhibition last summer that sent two boys to hospital and fairgoers scrambling for cover.

Court finds disbarred immigration lawyer liable for $2.4M

A disbarred Winnipeg immigration lawyer has been found liable for more than $2.4 million the Law Society of Manitoba paid to clients he swindled.

Brandon woman sues province, RHA for refusing to treat son with alcohol addiction

A Brandon woman is suing the province and Prairie Mountain Health alleging her son died one day after medical staff at Brandon Regional Health Centre denied him treatment for his alcohol addiction.

Ryan Eamer, 46, died Feb. 19, 2021, after his mother Brenda Eamer found him unconscious in his Brandon home.

Court of Appeal upholds conviction, sentence in city lawyer’s murder

The Manitoba Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of a man sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a city lawyer, rejecting his claim jurors were not properly instructed about the rules of self-defence.

Judge sends man to prison for 13 years in unprovoked near-fatal stabbing on city bus

A Winnipeg man responsible for an unprovoked knife attack that nearly claimed the life of a 70-year-old woman as she rode a city bus home following an afternoon of shopping has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.

New trial ordered in West Broadway slaying in 2019

Manitoba’s highest court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of killing a stranger in an unprovoked knife attack while high on meth.

Abusive father, husband gets break on sentence

A Winnipeg man who held his wife and children as virtual hostages during a violent, two-year reign of terror has had his prison sentence reduced by four years.

In a written decision released last week, the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled medical evidence not heard at the man’s trial or sentencing that suggests mental illness played a role in his crimes and served to reduce his moral responsibility, justifies a reduction in his 13-year prison sentence.

Woman seeks to withdraw guilty plea in death of toddler

A Winnipeg woman accused of fatally injuring her two-year-old stepson knew what she was doing when she agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter and should not be allowed to withdraw her plea, a judge was told Wednesday.

Accused killer to be assessed by psychiatrist

A Manitoba man accused of murdering his parents and stabbing his nursing supervisor in the entrance of a city hospital will argue he was not criminally responsible for his actions.

Trevor Farley appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom Tuesday. A judge approved a Crown application ordering that he undergo a forensic psychiatric assessment.

Trial of doctor charged with sex assaults adjourned again

The trial of a rural Manitoba doctor accused of sexually assaulting several of his female patients was adjourned yet again Monday, prompting a judge to question whether the proceeding can be completed in the four weeks that have been set aside for it.

No parole eligibility for 10 years for 2021 murder

A Winnipeg man who fatally attacked his teenage friend following an alcohol-fuelled argument has been sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.

Man sues ex-coach’s estate

An Ontario man is suing the estate of a former minor hockey coach and lawyer, alleging that as a teen, he was repeatedly sexually abused and photographed in “compromising and degrading situations” at the man’s Winnipeg home.

Fire, lies, fake injuries: MPI annual top fraud list

Auto scammers beware: you never know who is watching and you’re not as smart as you think.

Two men convicted of murder in 2020 beating death

A judge has convicted two men of second-degree murder following a trial that laid bare the violence pervading the city’s illegal drug trade.

Judge will take month to make ‘difficult’ bail decision for youth charged in library slaying

A 16-year-old boy arrested in the slaying of 28-year-old Tyree Cayer at the Millennium Library two weeks ago will have to wait another month to learn if he will be released from custody.

Woman pleads guilty, sentenced to life in prison in grandmother’s grisly murder

A 24-year-old Manitoba woman has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years after admitting to bludgeoning her grandmother to death with an axe.

Bagel shop owner accused of drug trafficking

The co-owner of a Sherbrook Street bagel shop has been making dough, not just in his kitchen but as a “high-ranking” drug trafficker, justice officials allege in newly filed court documents.

Cause of victim’s death couldn’t be determined, murder trial hears

Danielle Harper was stabbed five times in the chest and lower body, but that wasn’t enough to kill her, a pathologist told the trial of a man charged with her murder.

Third sex-assault trial ordered for retired RCMP officer

A retired RCMP officer, who was twice convicted of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl, has been ordered to stand trial a third time.

Contempt sentence slashed after appeal by key witness

A Winnipeg woman convicted of contempt of court after she tried to evade testifying at the trial of four murder suspects she helped police identify has had her 10-month jail sentence slashed in half by Manitoba’s highest court.

12 years for fatal attack outside beer vendor

A judge has rejected a recommended life sentence for a man who killed a new immigrant after striking him on the head with a crutch, finding he could not have anticipated the deadly consequences of his actions.

Jury convicts Gimli man of murder in shooting of 20-year-old woman

Hailey Dugay died after being struck by gunfire on a dark country road while headed to a house party with her boyfriend and others after their night at the bar was unexpectedly cut short.

Accused serial killer’s lawyer concerned about disclosure

A pretrial hearing set next month for accused serial killer Jeremy Skibicki has been cancelled after his lawyers raised concerns about the volume of disclosure in the case.

Guilty charge in stabbing death

A judge rejected a Manitoba man’s claim he had no memory stabbing his on-again, off-again girlfriend more than two dozen times and convicted him Tuesday of second-degree murder.

Killer denied Balaquit family ‘basic dignity of closure,’ judge says, handing down 16-year sentence

A judge sentenced Kyle Pietz to 16 years in prison for killing office cleaner Eduardo Balaquit Monday, as family of the slain man continued to yearn for the day they can properly lay him to rest.

Mental illness caused fatal stabbing of cabbie: defence

Prosecutors and defence lawyers agree Okoth Obeing was in the grip of bipolar disorder when he fatally stabbed a city cab driver 17 times.

Notorious wife-killer granted day parole

A Winnipeg man sentenced to life in prison after he chased down his estranged wife on a crowded Portage Avenue near Assiniboine Park and stabbed her to death has been granted day parole.

Crown seeks life sentence for 2021 manslaughter

In jail awaiting sentencing for an unprovoked, fatal attack on a recent immigrant, Norman Pruden stood before a judge Wednesday and offered a few brief words of apology.

Man said he should get life for slaying, court told

SILAS Ammaklak, who already had one manslaughter conviction, told police he should spend “the rest of (his) life in jail” after he was arrested for killing a woman he had just met.

‘I could rip their… soul open’: Man accused of killing cabbie told police he felt disrespected

A man on trial for the unprovoked killing of a city cab driver told police people who disrespect him “don’t know what I’m capable of.”

Nygard lawyer Prober reprimanded for comments on alleged victims

The Law Society of Manitoba has reprimanded Winnipeg lawyer Jay Prober for repeated comments he made in the media alleging women accusing fallen fashion magnate Peter Nygard of sex crimes were lying and looking for money.

Man accused of killing cabbie made racist remarks, court told

A Winnipeg man accused of stabbing a city cab driver to death in an unprovoked attack made racially charged comments to police in which he admitted to the killing, a judge was told Thursday.

‘Scared for my life:’ accused killer says he was acting in self-defence

A Winnipeg man accused of stabbing another man to death following a quarrel over a small debt told a judge Friday he was acting in self-defence after the victim attacked him first.

Guilty pleas in group attack on northern woman

Two people charged with aggravated sexual assault, following what police described at the time as a violent group attack on a 34-year-old Norway House woman, have pleaded guilty to reduced charges and were released from custody.

Ex-cadet leader gets 13 years for child luring

A former officer with the Canadian Cadet program has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after admitting to grooming and sexually exploiting three teenage girls under his wing.

Charge stayed against mom whose baby was found dead

Justice officials have stayed charges against a Winnipeg woman who was arrested after her infant daughter was found dead in a garbage bin last May.

Drunk driver who killed friend appeals conviction

Lawyers for a Manitoba man sentenced to six months jail for an alcohol-related truck rollover incident that killed his 16-year-old best friend are appealing his conviction.

Man jailed 23 months for assault on toddler

A Winnipeg man convicted of assaulting his toddler stepson after claiming he held him “too hard” has been sentenced to 23 months in jail.

Accused killer tells court he doesn’t recall stabbing girlfriend, apologizes to her family

Phoenix Maytwayashing didn’t deny stabbing his on-again, off-again girlfriend more than two dozen times, but told a Winnipeg courtroom this week he had no memory of the fatal attack.

Exhausted, stressed Crown attorneys leaving Manitoba’s prosecutions branch, advocacy group says

Burnout, unmanageable workloads and stagnant pay are draining the Manitoba justice system of seasoned prosecutors, sending them to greener pastures out of province, the private sector or early retirement, the Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys said Wednesday.

Monk sentenced to 11 years for child sex abuse

A former Buddhist monk who subjected two young girls to years of sexual abuse at a Winnipeg temple has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

City firm files $1-M suit against Assiniboine Park Conservancy

Another lawsuit has been added to Assiniboine Park’s Leaf project.

Crown seeks adult sentences for youth in 2020 shooting spree

Two teens facing possible life sentences for a Winnipeg shooting spree that left one woman dead and three others wounded could be released from custody in as little as 2 1/2 years, a court heard Monday.

First-degree murder charges for teens accused in Main Street homicide

Two 15-year-old males arrested in two killings in Winnipeg’s Point Douglas neighbourhood now face first-degree murder charges for one of the slayings.

‘He was hurting her’: Girl tried to protect mom

A seven-year-old girl rushed to her mother’s aid as she was being stabbed to death, only to have the attacker turn the knife on her, a Winnipeg courtroom heard Wednesday.

Prosecutors take rural collision case to appeals court

Justice officials are appealing a judge’s decision sentencing a Manitoba man to just six months in jail for an impaired driving crash that killed his 15-year-old best friend.

Crown to seek life for teen accused in bridge killing

Crown seeks life for teen in stabbing case

New trial ordered in police assault case

Manitoba’s highest court has ordered a new trial in the case of a family awarded more than $100,000 after they accused police of assaulting them during a confrontation in a Winnipeg hotel room.

Court ruling gives man hope police will probe mom’s 2004 death

Nearly 20 years after Jessie Garwood suffered a fatal fall in her Windsor Park home, her son hopes a civil judgment against the woman he believes is responsible, will convince police and justice officials to reopen an investigation into her death.

Man guilty of killing 28-year-old woman as she slept

A Winnipeg man has been found guilty in the September 2019 killing and torture of a woman he had accused of being “a rat.”

Man charged in bus sex assaults

A Winnipeg man arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two women on a Transit bus has been convicted of similar offences as recently as 2020, court records show.

Three arrested in St. Norbert slaying

Police have taken three men into custody for the slaying of a 59-year-old St. Norbert man in July.

City police use decoy bikes to arrest four thieves

As sure as the sun will rise, if you leave a bicycle unlocked and untended in Winnipeg long enough, someone will try to steal it.

North to run for Manitoba grand chief

Sheila North, a Winnipeg TV anchor and former Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak grand chief, has announced her candidacy to become the grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

Battered woman admits to killing husband

Madeline Harper loved her husband and he loved her, she told a Winnipeg court, but when Dalius Harper drank, it could unleash a fury no amount of affection could contain.

Man accused of stabbing stranger downtown released three times on separate charges

A Winnipeg man accused of stabbing a stranger on a downtown street and chasing others with a knife was on bail for assaulting two police officers and other charges, court records show.

Good deeds don’t erase drug broker’s crimes, judge rules

Lord Kofi Agyapong-Mensah turned his attention to mentoring Winnipeg youth after he was released from a California prison for his part in a cross-border scam that bilked seniors out of at least $280 million.

New name for Manitoba court after Queen’s death

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth Thursday, so too passes Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench, in name at least.

No parole for 13 years for ‘particularly brutal’ strangling

A Winnipeg man who pushed police to shoot him after strangling a woman to death in her Riverton Avenue home has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years.

Serial killer’s parole eligibility offically shortened

Manitoba’s highest court has formally struck down a sentence that would prevent convicted serial killer John Ostamas from applying for parole for 75 years.

Frustrated judge hands drunk driver 51-month term

A Manitoba man who initially claimed he was asleep in the back seat of his car during a drunk-driving collision that killed a Selkirk father of three admitted responsibility only after DNA seized from an airbag and other evidence put him squarely in the driver’s seat, a court has heard.

False confession claim in bid to withdraw manslaughter plea

A Winnipeg woman who admitted responsibility in the death of her toddler stepson is now trying to withdraw her manslaughter plea, claiming she falsely confessed to police.

Road rager sentenced to 10 months in jail

A Winnipeg man responsible for a terrifying road rage attack that made headlines around the world and left his two victims fearing for their lives has been sentenced to 10 months in jail.

Judge fines five defiant, repeated COVID rule-breakers total of more than $100K

Fined $34,000 for repeatedly breaching public-health orders intended to curb the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Allard said he had no regrets as he walked out of the Winnipeg Law Courts Thursday afternoon.

Priest accused in residential school sex assault pleads not guilty

A retired priest accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl at a Manitoba residential school over 50 years ago will be going to trial.

Headingley women’s jail hit by COVID outbreak

THE Women’s Correctional Centre in Headingley has been placed on COVID-19 outbreak status after more than a dozen inmates tested positive.

No parole for 12 years for 2020 murder

A Winnipeg man responsible for the drug house slaying of 24-year-old Vincent Ross was sentenced Friday to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 12 years.

Anti-lockdown quintuple lose charter challenge ahead of trial

Five alleged pandemic scofflaws set to stand trial later this month will not be able to argue Manitoba public health orders violated their charter rights, a judge has ruled.

Killer tells court he thinks about friend, can’t explain why he pulled trigger

In the midst of a meth binge, Christian Bruce aimed a sawed-off rifle at the head of a man he considered a friend and shot him dead.

Man pleads guilty to manslaughter

Nevis Carter and Oghenetega Ufuoma didn’t know each other, but they had a couple of things in common: each struggled with mental illness and were living on the street.

Woman convicted in slaying of Bolivian immigrant

Chelsea O’Hanley claimed she had no idea Gerhard Reimer-Wiebe’s battered body was in the trunk of her SUV when she drove three people — now convicted in his murder — to Portage la Prairie in June 2020.

Court dismisses charter challenge in 2021 double homicide case

A Steinbach man arrested in the slaying of an elderly couple has been dealt a legal blow in his charter challenge to quash a move to bring him to trial without the benefit of a preliminary hearing.

Karlton Dean Reimer, 28, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the March 2021 stabbing deaths of 77-year-old Dennis Lidgett and his wife Bernadette Lidgett, 73, at their home near Lorette.

Crown prosecutors are proceeding by direct indictment, meaning the case will go straight to trial without a preliminary hearing.

Preliminary hearings are held in provincial court, after which a judge rules whether there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial.

Three charged in stabbing of Ukrainian refugee at The Forks

Two men and a youth have been arrested for the stabbing of a refugee from Ukraine at The Forks earlier this month.

After poring through hours of CCTV surveillance footage and interviewing witnesses, investigators were able to identify suspects and arrest them on Wednesday and Thursday, Winnipeg police said on Friday.

Two refugees from Ukraine were walking near the Canadian Museum for Human Rights when they told witnesses they had accidentally bumped into three men on July 1 at about 10:40 p.m.

Despite apologizing, both were bear sprayed and one was stabbed.

Crown appeals decision of police entrapment

Prosecutors are appealing a judge’s decision striking down a Manitoba man’s conviction for luring a minor over the internet.

Michael Lymych, 36, was arrested in 2019, as part of a Winnipeg Police Service investigation, called Project Hook, which targeted the online luring of minors.

Queen’s Bench Justice Jeffrey Harris convicted Lymych after trial of one count of luring and making sexually explicit material available to a minor. However, in a ruling last month, Harris quashed the convictions after finding police had entrapped Lymych.

In a notice of appeal filed July 15, Crown prosecutors argue Harris “erred in his application of the law of entrapment.” Court documents do not detail the error or errors alleged by the Crown.

Crown blocks challenge by anti-lockdown protesters

Five Manitobans set to stand trial next month for repeatedly violating pandemic restrictions were in court Friday as Crown officials tried to block their charter challenge of the charges.

Retiree and lockdown opponent Gerry Bohemier, Hugs over Masks organizer Sharon Vickner, anti-lockdown rally organizers Todd McDougall and Patrick Allard, and Church of God (Restoration) pastor Tobias Tissen were individually charged for alleged repeated violations of public health orders involving outdoor gatherings between November 2020 and May 2021.

The five co-defendants have filed notices of application arguing their arrests were in violation of their charter right to assembly.

The Crown countered with its own motion to dismiss the defence motion, arguing before provincial court Judge Victoria Cornick on Friday that the issue had already been settled in an October ruling by Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal.

Judge rules man’s rights violated, but upholds sentence

WINNIPEG police violated a city man’s charter rights when they denigrated his sexual orientation during an interrogation, but that’s not enough to overturn his convictions for sexually abusing three nephews, Manitoba’s highest court has ruled.

The 60-year-old man was convicted of three counts of sexual interference and two counts of invitation to sexual touching. He was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison.

The man — who is not being named to protect the identity of his victims — appealed his conviction, and asked for a stay on all charges. He argued then-Det. Sgt. Elton Hall (now an inspector with the major crimes unit) was abusive and insulting during an interrogation that denigrated his sexual orientation and called into question his relationship with his husband.

“Det. Sgt. Hall’s conduct was a serious departure from the expected standard and undermined the integrity of the justice system, constituting a (charter breach),” Manitoba Court of Appeal Justice Karen Simonsen said in a written ruling.

Woman accused of assault on toddler loses custody appeal

A woman accused of seriously injuring a baby at her unlicensed daycare has lost a court fight for custody of her own child.

In a written ruling released last week, the Court of Appeal of Manitoba upheld a family court decision awarding sole custody of her seven-year-old son to her ex-husband.

The 40-year-old woman was charged with aggravated assault in June 2019, after a six-month-old boy suffered multiple and life-altering head injuries while allegedly at her unlicensed daycare.

“We are not persuaded that the trial judge made any error that would allow us to interfere with his decision,” Justice Chris Mainella wrote on behalf of the appeal court.

Police HQ contractor accused of altering invoices to settle old debts

Caspian Construction, the company at the centre of a city lawsuit involving the beleaguered Winnipeg police headquarters project, altered invoices to settle old debts with its subcontractors, newly filed court documents allege.

“In short, there are many irregularities in the Caspian defendant’s invoicing and the payment of subtrade invoices on the (project),” City of Winnipeg lawyers Michael Finlayson and Gabrielle Lisi alleged in a motion brief filed on June 14.

“They appeared to settle debts with subtrades from prior projects by altering invoices with or without subtrade involvement, and submitting them to the city,” the lawyers wrote.

The headquarters project was budgeted at $137.1 million in 2011 and ballooned to $210 million by the time it was completed five years later.

Teen found guilty of murder in mother’s bludgeoning death

In a courtroom crowded with family members, a Winnipeg teen was found guilty Wednesday night of bludgeoning his mother to death in her bed.

Jurors deliberated over 18 hours over two days before convicting the now 19-year-old man of second- degree murder late Thursday evening.

The 51-year-old victim was found dead in her bed March 26, 2019. Her son stood trial charged with first-degree murder.

Family members initially cheered in jubilation as the jury foreperson announced a finding of not guilty for first- degree murder, drowning out his announcement of a guilty verdict on the lesser charge. Family members’ joy quickly turned to tears and sobs as the guilty verdict was confirmed by the jury foreperson. The teen’s father held his head in his hand and cried as jury members were polled one by one to confirm their verdict.

Like mother, like son when it comes to manslaughter

Less than a month after his mother was sentenced to prison for manslaughter, a Winnipeg man was in a Winnipeg courtroom Tuesday before the same judge to face punishment for the same charge.

Derrik Lawrence Edward Smith, 23, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for an unprovoked attack on 24-year-old Denzel Constant, on Oct. 12, 2020, that resulted in his death a day later from a catastrophic brain injury.

Court was told Constant and a friend were walking on Salter Street near Burrows Avenue around 8:30 p.m. when Smith and another man approached them and demanded Constant surrender his backpack. When he did, Smith struck Constant in the head with the backpack, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head on the sidewalk.

Constant got to his feet, and with his friend walked to his apartment, a supportive housing unit operated by New Directions. After arriving home, Constant continued to be in significant pain and began suffering seizures, Crown attorney Bryton Moen told Queen’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond.

Crown, defence clash in closing arguments for trial of teen accused of matricide

LAWYERS for a Winnipeg teen accused of beating his mother to death as she slept alleged Monday prosecutors are “twisting” ordinary events into evidence of his guilt where none exists.

“They don’t have evidence (the 19-year-old accused) committed the crime, so they have to say it is impossible for someone else to have done it,” defence lawyer Matt Gould argued in a closing address to jurors. “Of course, it’s not impossible. We aren’t even close to that here.”

The 51-year-old victim was found bludgeoned to death in her bed March 26, 2019. Her son is charged with first-degree murder.

The Free Press is not naming the victim, as it would identify the accused, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Man sentenced to 10 years for fatal shooting

A Selkirk man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after fatally shooting a woman with a homemade gun during a drug dispute.

Landace Blair Urbanovitch, 26, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the July 4, 2021, killing of 22-year-old Levi Liske.

“While there may not be adequate evidence he intended the firearm to go off, Mr. Urbanovitch is nonetheless guilty of a serious manslaughter because he decided to produce a homemade firearm in the course of a serious argument,” Crown attorney Catherine Basarab told provincial court Judge Julie Frederickson, at a sentencing hearing in Selkirk last week.

Court was told Urbanovitch, his girlfriend and Liske had been staying in the same house July 4, when shortly before 5 a.m. they became embroiled in a heated argument over drugs and money. A second man in the house told police he awoke to the sound of smashing noises in the kitchen and saw Urbanovitch enter the living room “in an aggressive manner” holding a homemade gun, Basarab told court.

Defence grills slain woman’s co-worker

Lawyers for a Winnipeg teen on trial accused of beating his mother to death turned their attention to a co-worker she had accused of sexually harassing her, suggesting he was responsible for the killing.

Jurors have heard the woman filed a complaint against the man in May 2018. She had accused him of “inappropriate behaviour” and “unwanted attention,” including crude remarks, an attempt to kiss her in an elevator and touching her breasts.

The man, who cannot be identified by name under terms of a court-ordered publication ban, denied touching the woman, but admitted to exchanging inappropriate “banter” with her.

The man said he was shocked when administrators notified him about the allegations, noting the woman had given him a chocolate just days earlier.

No parole application for seven years for 2019 slaying

A Winnipeg man who was on parole for killing a man when he stabbed a stranger to death during a “relentless” meth-fuelled attack has been sentenced to life in prison.

Rodney Williams, 37, was convicted of manslaughter in the June 2019 death of 51-year-old Robert Donaldson.

Williams stood trial charged with second-degree murder, but Queen’s Bench Justice Shauna McCarthy found he was in the grip of a methamphetamine-induced psychosis at the time that left him unable to form the intent to kill.

“That does not negate the fact that Williams knowingly consumed drugs and alcohol, knowing that he had a violent past, and set out into the streets of Winnipeg with the knife,” McCarthy wrote in a 22-page decision released Monday. “Williams then committed a sustained, relentless and violent attack on an arbitrary victim and others tying to assist him.”

New trial after court quashes 2020 murder conviction

MANITOBA’S highest court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of committing a premeditated killing when he was 16.

The now 21-year-old man was convicted in 2020 of first-degree murder in the January 2017 shooting death of 26-year-old Tyler Kirton and sentenced as an adult to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.

In a written decision released this week, the Manitoba Court of Appeal quashed the man’s conviction, ruling the sentencing judge erred in admitting evidence obtained after police seized the teen’s cellphone — a seizure the appeal court said arose from a statement police obtained from him in violation of his Charter rights.

Court heard at trial the boy admitted ownership of the phone before he had been advised of his charter rights, including his right to a lawyer. Queen’s Bench Justice David Kroft found police violated the boy’s charter rights, but admitted his statement and the evidence found on his cellphone.

Mother beaten to death with ‘tremendous amount of force’

A Winnipeg woman whose son is on trial charged with her murder was bludgeoned so forcefully in the head a pathologist likened her injuries to those suffered in a high-speed car crash.

“Those kinds of injuries could not be produced by simple punches or kicks,” chief medical examiner Dr. John Younes testified Tuesday.

The 51-year-old woman was found beaten to death in her bed on March 26, 2019, after her then 16-year-old son called 911 claiming he had returned to their Winnipeg home from running errands and discovered she had been the victim of an attack.

The Free Press is not naming the 51-year-old victim as it would identify the now 19-year-old accused, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Mom relied heavily on accused killer son, murder trial told

Text messages provided to a jury Monday revealed new insights into the relationship between a teenage boy and his alleged murder victim — his mother.

Thousands of pages of text messages uncovered by police, excerpts of which were read in court Monday, show the woman was dependent on her son beginning when he was as young as 14.

The 51-year-old victim was found bludgeoned to death in her bedroom on March 26, 2019. The Free Press is not naming the 51-year-old victim as it would identify the now 19-year-old accused, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Court has heard the woman had been off work for several months at the time of her death due to both physical injury and mental health issues.

Killer pleads guilty in three-year-old daughter’s fatal stabbing

A Winnipeg man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shocking stabbing death of his three-year-old daughter.

Frank Nausigimana, 29, entered his plea before Queen’s Bench Justice Joan McKelvey during a brief hearing Thursday morning.

Asked if he understood he was waiving his right to a trial, Nausigimana, through an American Sign Language interpreter, told McKelvey: “ Yes, I accept the punishment and I am following the law of God.”

“I’ve decided that I am going to pray,” Nausigimana said. “I admit I am guilty.”

Woman gets 14 years for role in 2020 slaying

After fatally assaulting John Kirkwa for his bank card, his attackers dumped his body in a garbage bin and siphoned the remaining dollars from his bank account.

In court this week, Roberta Jessamine, 51, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her part in the March 21, 2020, killing and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Jessamine and co-accused Selena Cross were arrested four days after the killing and one day after a Lansdowne Avenue resident discovered the 33-year-old victim’s body in her garbage bin.

Court was told Jessamine was angry that Kirkwa had allegedly not paid her for drugs she had purchased for him hours before his death.

‘Calculated and cunning’ harasser off to prison

Agnieszka Ciochon-Newton stalked and harassed her victims for years with a zeal seemingly ripped from the pages of a paperback thriller.

She was bent on destroying the lives of those she believed had done her wrong.

After the former St. Boniface General Hospital nurse was sentenced to six years in prison this week, one of her victims said she doesn’t know if she will ever feel safe again.

“I want to say it’s over, but it’s never going to be over,” said the woman after her tormentor was led out of court by a sheriff’s officer Thursday.

Man accused of killing parents, attacking nurse, headed for trial

PROSECUTORS have filed a direct indictment against a Winnipeg man accused of murdering his parents and a violent assault on a nurse at a city hospital.

Trevor Farley, 37, appeared briefly in court Thursday via video from The Pas Correctional Centre.

Police arrested Farley at the jail under the new indictment on Wednesday, Crown attorney Mark Kantor told Queen’s Bench Justice Colleen Suche.

Under a direct indictment, the case will proceed straight to trial, without a preliminary hearing.

Crown asks for minimum 16 years without parole for 2019 murder

Cody Don Saunders went to Karen Letniak’s home looking for sex, but when his night didn’t end the way he wanted, he flew into a rage that ended in her death, a judge was told Monday.

Saunders, 27, was convicted of second-degree murder following a jury trial in December. Now, prosecutors are arguing his mandatory life sentence should come with no chance of parole for at least 16 years.

Saunders admitted he had strangled Letniak, but argued at trial he was in the grip of a cocaine-induced psychosis that removed his intent to kill.

Letniak was found dead and naked on the floor in the front entrance of her Riverton Avenue home Oct. 18, 2019.

Crown quotes accused: ‘Rats deserve to die’

Jesse Gamblin attacked 28-year-old Norma Andrews with a baseball bat and a machete to teach her a fatal lesson about what happens to “rats,” a court heard Tuesday.

“It was a lesson that would begin in full view of others and end in Norma Andrews’s death,” Crown attorney Chantal Boutin told Queen’s Bench Justice Brenda Keyser at the opening of Gamblin’s second-degree murder trial.

Andrews bled to death following a prolonged and brutal attack at a Balmoral Street rooming house on Sept. 21, 2019.

Court heard Andrews, known to her friends as Bambi, was asleep on a bed after a night of drinking and using drugs with several other people in the suite when, the Crown alleges, Gamblin, 22, returned around 9 a.m. and attacked her.

Six months for man who fled fatal collision

An Ashern cattle farmer who didn’t stop to help following a highway collision in which a 30-year-old was killed has been sentenced to six months in jail.

Frankie Kehler, 45, was convicted after a trial last year on one count of failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Adam Sinclair was struck down May 4, 2019, by a truck on Highway 6 near Ashern, after his own vehicle rolled into the ditch and he wandered back onto the road.

Kehler was not charged with impaired driving causing death because both the Crown and defence agreed even a sober driver would not have been able to avoid hitting Sinclair.

Widow cries out as jury finds man guilty in Balaquit’s death

A jury has convicted Kyle Pietz of manslaughter in the death of office cleaner Eduardo Balaquit, accepting the Crown’s theory he killed Balaquit after forcing him to disclose his bank card numbers.

Seated with her sons and other family members, Balaquit’s wife Illuminada clutched a wooden crucifix and cried out as the verdict was announced.

Jurors delivered their verdict just before 8 p.m. Wednesday following six hours of deliberations.

Pietz showed no visible reaction.

Court hears challenge to Manitoba personal cannabis growth ban

MANITOBA’S ban on homegrown weed is undermining the federal government’s goal when it legalized marijuana in the first place, say lawyers for a local pot advocate fighting the prohibition.

The Manitoba government has “done exactly the opposite of what the federal government thought was the right thing to do,” Kirk Tousaw, a lawyer for TobaGrown founder Jesse Lavoie, said outside court Monday, following a full day of arguments before Queen’s Bench Justice Shauna McCarthy.

“What they are actually doing is supporting and fostering the black market.”

Canada’s Cannabis Act allows adults to cultivate up to four cannabis plants per household for recreational use. Manitoba and Quebec have banned homegrown recreational weed.

Duress to play key role in murder trial

A Winnipeg woman charged in the murder of man whose charred remains were found in Portage la Prairie after he was tortured and held captive for several days is expected to claim she was acting under duress, a judge was told Monday.

Chelsea O’Hanley, 26, is on trial charged with first-degree murder, indignity to human remains and accessory to murder after the fact.

Gerhard Reimer-Wiebe, 27, was killed in a Winnipeg home in June 2020, before his body was burned and partially buried on the edge of a field.

In March, 31-year-old Kyle Evan Sinkovits and 27-year-old Jonathan Narvey pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, while co-accused Bobbi Lynn Hall, 28, pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact. They are still awaiting sentencing.

Couple headed to prison for sex acts with boys, dogs

A Manitoba couple has been sentenced to four years in prison after admitting they recorded sex acts with two teenage boys, and in separate incidents, animals.

“We are truly embarrassed of our actions that resulted in us being here today,” 61-year-old Donna Woodward told Queen’s Bench Justice Elliot Levin at a sentencing hearing Friday. “We truly hope we have not created any future trauma and issues for the victims.”

Woodward and her husband, Charles Woodward, 63, pleaded guilty to two counts of making child pornography and one count of bestiality.

Police arrested the couple in November 2018 after one of the then-15-year-old boys disclosed an incident to his father.

Creditors had sought accused in days before Balaquit slaying, police testify

For more than 20 years, cleaning the offices at Westcon Equipment and Rentals was part of Eduardo Balaquit’s nightly routine.

At 6:05 p.m., June 4, 2018, the man, as he had done countless times before, entered his alarm code, disarming the Keewatin Street business’s security system.

That act marked the last time Balaquit was known to be alive, Winnipeg Police Service Sgt. Paul Barber told jurors Wednesday.

Checks with the Canadian Border Services Agency and Canadian Air Traffic Security Authority confirmed Balaquit did not travel across the border or by air since then, Barber testified. Similar checks with Manitoba Health and Canadian Police Information Centre databases showed no evidence of involvement with Balaquit.

Accused killer drowning in debt, court told

Financial records show a man accused of killing Eduardo Balaquit during the course of a robbery was drowning in debt and had defaulted on several loans, jurors heard Monday.

“Determining someone’s financial status can lead to a motive for a crime,” Winnipeg Police Service Sgt. Michael Macdonald told jurors.

Balaquit, 59, disappeared June 4, 2018 after leaving home for Westcon Equipment and Rentals on Keewatin Street, where he had a contract as a cleaner. His body has never been found.

Thirty-six-year-old Kyle Pietz, a former employee at Westcon, is on trial for manslaughter. Prosecutors allege Pietz killed Balaquit during a robbery and forced him to disclose his bank card numbers.

Garden biz on hook for illegal composting

A garden supply business has been ordered to pay $55,000 in fines and court costs after it flouted a court order to stop composting activities on its property.

The ruling is the latest legal fallout in a long-standing — and sometimes violent — dispute between Samborski Garden Supplies Ltd. and the Rural Municipality of Macdonald.

In January 2020, Samborski Garden Supplies Ltd. (Samborski Environmental) and director Leonard Samborski were found guilty of contempt for ignoring a 2016 interim injunction that prohibited them from continuing composting operations on property south of the Perimeter Highway, west of Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill.

“Despite efforts by the RM on several fronts, the injunction did not cause Samborski Environmental to stop dumping material on the property,” Queen’s Bench Justice Colleen Suche wrote in a recently released ruling. “It simply carried on as it had been doing.”

Nygard challenging extradition order to U.S.

Disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard is fighting an order by the federal justice minister that he be extradited to the U.S. to face sex charges.

In a notice of application filed Wednesday in the Manitoba Court of Appeal, Nygard is seeking to quash a March 22 order by federal Justice Minister David Lametti authorizing his extradition to the U.S. once a criminal case against him in Toronto has concluded.

Nygard, 80, has been held in custody since December 2020 when he was arrested in Winnipeg under the Extradition Act after being charged with nine sex-related offences in New York.

Last September, Toronto police charged Nygard with six counts of sexual assault and three counts of forcible confinement for offences against women alleged to have occurred between October 1987 and March 2006.

Judge urged to deliver life sentence to two-time killer

CONVICTED for the second time of stabbing a man to death, Rodney Williams should go to prison for life, with no chance of parole for 10 years, a judge was told Wednesday.

“The fact that Mr. Williams has killed twice cannot be ignored,” Crown attorney Chantal Boutin told Justice Shauna McCarthy. “This is an integral part of the circumstances you must weigh and consider.”

McCarthy convicted Williams of manslaughter in the June 2019 death of 51-year-old Robert Donaldson after a trial last spring.

Williams stood trial for second-degree murder, but McCarthy convicted him of the lesser charge, ruling he was too intoxicated by methamphetamine to form the intent to kill.

Detective testifies about accused’s reaction during arrest

Arrested by homicide detectives a day after Eduardo Balaquit was reported missing, Kyle Pietz expressed surprise it was believed he had been murdered, jurors heard Wednesday.

“Is Eddie dead?” Winnipeg Police Service Sgt. John Taylor quoted Pietz as saying as he was handcuffed and advised of his rights outside his Toronto Street home on June 5, 2018.

Balaquit, 59, disappeared June 4, after leaving home for Westcon Equipment and Rentals on Keewatin Street, where he had a long-standing contract as a cleaner. His body has never been found.

Pietz, a former employee at Westcon, is on trial for manslaughter. Prosecutors allege Pietz killed Balaquit during a robbery.

Thief tells manslaughter trial he broke into van, stole wallet on night Balaquit went missing

Hours after Eduardo Balaquit was last seen alive, Lesley Walker was attempting to use one of the dead man’s credit cards at several inner-city convenience stores, a Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench jury heard Tuesday.

Walker told jurors he and another man were looking for scrap metal to steal and resell the night of June 4, 2018, when they opened an unlocked van outside City Wide Water Heater Service on Keewatin Street and grabbed several lengths of copper pipe and brass fittings.

A short time later in the same area, they came across a van that jurors have heard belonged to Balaquit.

Walker said he broke the front passenger-door window and grabbed a wallet with a driver’s licence and credit cards.

Lawyer guilty of professional misconduct can return to work under supervision

A Brandon defence lawyer barred from communicating in his off hours with women in the justice system will be allowed to return to work under supervision, a Law Society of Manitoba disciplinary panel has ruled.

Ryan Fawcett pleaded guilty to one count each of professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a lawyer, offences under the Legal Profession Act.

Fawcett, 46, admitted to repeatedly texting five women “unwanted communications of a sexual nature” between 2016 and 2020.

Fawcett, speaking to a law society disciplinary panel last week, apologized to his victims and colleagues, saying his actions brought shame to his profession and himself.

Man who left body fluid on children’s clothes spared from record

A former Asper School of Business student who left his semen on the clothing of three young children in a gym locker room has, on appeal, been granted a conditional discharge, sparing him a criminal record.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Jeffrey Harris ruled the original sentencing judge erred by focusing on the effect of the offence on society. “In my opinion, it is in the public interest that the accused be given every opportunity to become a useful and contributing member of the community to its fullest potential,” Harris said in the ruling.

The now 25-year-old man, identified in court documents only by the initials C.B., pleaded guilty last July to three counts of mischief and was sentenced to 15 months of supervised probation.

Court was told that on three occasions in early 2019, the man entered the community locker room at the Frank Kennedy Active Living Centre at the University of Manitoba, where he removed the clothing of young girls from their lockers and “deposited his semen” on the garments before returning them to their lockers.

Former Winnipeg CAO ordered to pay $327K to city in police HQ case

A judge has ruled the $327,000 former city chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl accepted as a bribe connected to construction of the downtown police headquarters be repaid to the City of Winnipeg.

Last month, Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal ruled in favour of the city’s claim Sheegl accepted a bribe from Armik Babakhanians, owner of Caspian Construction.

Joyal said Sheegl could not be allowed to keep the money, but the question remained who should get it.

After further submissions from lawyers for Sheegl and the city, Joyal, in a decision released Wednesday, ruled the money rightfully belonged to the city.

Serial harasser deserves credit for pleading guilty: defence

A lawyer for a Winnipeg woman — whose years-long campaigns of harassment left her two victims living in fear she would destroy their lives — has urged a judge to sentence her to just under four years in custody.

The sentence would give credit to Agnieszka Ciochon-Newton for accepting responsibility for her crimes; and it would spare the court the expense of a lengthy and complex trial, defence lawyer Barry Walker told provincial court Judge Keith Eyrikson at a sentencing hearing Wednesday.

“Substantial weight can be put on her guilty plea and the resources she saved,” Walker said. “The facts of this case are very aggravating — the defence will concede that — … (but) she is not disentitled to leniency.”

The Crown has recommended she serve eight years in prison.

Balaquit homicide trial delayed in advance of storm

Jurors were back in court Tuesday, hearing evidence in the trial of a man accused of killing Eduardo Balaquit, six days after a judge ordered a temporary suspension of proceedings due to two positive COVID-19 test results among the jury.

They didn’t get a chance to get too comfortable.

With Winnipeg bracing for an epic spring blizzard, Queen’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond told jurors the trial would be taking another break, with testimony set to resume April 19.

“That’s in the interest of everybody’s safety,” Bond told jurors before the lunch break. “It’s not reasonable for us… given what we’re being told is coming, to expect that you will all be able to arrive here safely.”

Life-altering hammer attack not attempt to kill, court told

JONATHAN Flett admits beating a Good Samaritan on the head with a hammer but had no intention of killing him, a judge was told Monday.

Flett, 20, is on trial charged with attempted murder for a Sept. 1, 2020, attack that sent 27-year-old Zachary Fitzsimmons to hospital with life-altering injuries.

Flett lashed out at Fitzsimmons, mistakenly believing he had hit Flett first, and in his own words “wasn’t trying to kill that guy,” defence lawyer Scott Newman told Queen’s Bench Justice Theodor Bock in a closing argument.

Flett has admitted he is guilty of the lesser charge of aggravated assault.

Man acquitted of assaulting police after ‘significant concerns’ in officer testimony

A Winnipeg man who says police repeatedly shocked him with a Taser without cause has been acquitted of assaulting two officers, after a judge ruled “inconsistencies” in their testimony and “less than satisfactory answers” left him in doubt of his guilt.

Shaun Anobis, 38, stood trial earlier this year on two counts of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

“This is a case where there are some issues with Sean Anobis’s evidence, so I cannot simply accept his denial of any assault,” provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs said Tuesday. “However… there are more significant concerns with the evidence of police officers in this case.”

Court heard evidence at trial the Winnipeg Police Service responded to a report of a man brandishing a BB gun in the area of a Maryland Street rooming house June 8, 2020, at the same time Anobis was walking out of the house.

Nine years for unprovoked fatal stabbing on city bus

A Winnipeg man who stabbed and killed a 57-year-old stranger on a city bus in an alcohol-fuelled attack has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

Justin James, 48, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the slaying of Raymond Hill on May 24, 2020.

“This was a violent, unprovoked attack,” provincial court Judge Murray Thompson said Thursday. “This was near murder, but for the accused’s self-induced intoxication.”

Court was told Hill and James got on the bus outside Portage Place mall around 3 p.m. James, who was drinking from a king can of beer, sat down at the front of the bus and Hill took a seat near the back.

More jurors test positive for COVID, manslaughter trial on hold until next week

The trial of a man charged with manslaughter in the killing of Eduardo Balaquit has been put on hold for five days after two more jurors tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday morning.

“They have not been discharged, they have just been asked to go home,” Queen’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond told the remaining jurors. “We are not going to proceed with the trial today in these circumstances.”

The development reduces the number of jurors on the jury to 11, down from 14 on Monday, the opening day of the trial. One juror was replaced by an alternate on Monday, after one juror reported he had tested positive for the virus. On Tuesday, another juror tested positive and was discharged. The remaining 13 jurors were provided with rapid tests, all tested negative and the trial resumed.

Jurors have been told to return to court Tuesday, at which time they will all be provided with rapid tests.

Accused in Balaquit slaying placed at scene, court told

A former co-worker placed Kyle Pietz at the scene where prosecutors allege he robbed and killed Eduardo Balaquit one day later, a jury has heard.

Balaquit, 59, disappeared June 4, 2018, after leaving home for Westcon Equipment and Rentals on Keewatin Street, where he had a long-standing contract as a cleaner. His body has never been found.

Pietz, 36, is on trial for manslaughter.

Derek Barron testified he and Pietz had worked together in Westcon’s parts department for a couple of months before Pietz quit in the spring of 2018. Prosecutors allege Pietz stole $1,700 from a petty cash box that April and quit a month later.

Accused sex offender guilty of past indecent acts

A Lundar man arrested recently for historical sex crimes against children was convicted 20 years ago of sexual offences involving three boys, court records show.

Joseph Floyd Delaney, 65, was arrested in February and charged with seven sexual assault-related offences involving three children, alleged to have occurred in the mid-1980s to early 1990s.

Court records show Delaney pleaded guilty in September 2000 to three counts of committing an indecent act involving three boys under the age of 14 between January 1998 and March 2000.

“The accused would masturbate in front of (one of the victims) and the others on several occasions during that period of time,” Crown attorney George De Moissac told provincial court Judge Ted Lismer at Delaney’s September 2000 sentencing hearing.

Man sentenced for vicious assault on gang underling

A Winnipeg man who recorded his “hideous” attack on a gang underling and posted the video on Facebook, has been sentenced to three years in custody in a case a judge said highlights the lack of rehabilitative resources for Indigenous offenders.

Brandon Sumner, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault for the April 2020 attack. Provincial court Judge Cynthia Devine sentenced Sumner to an additional one year in custody for an unrelated attack on a stranger 18 days earlier.

“This case was particularly difficult to decide because the particular type of secure residential facilities and resources that are designed to heal young Indigenous offenders who are also struggling with (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder), addictions, the intergenerational trauma leading to violence and joining gangs, do not exist,” Devine said in a written decision released this week.

“Specialized resources… to address intergenerational traumas caused by colonialism and residential schools are required in this case to protect society and rehabilitate Mr. Sumner,” Devine said.

No parole for 10 years for man who killed girlfriend

A Winnipeg man who stabbed his girlfriend to death while bound by a court order to have no contact with her has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years.

Brandon Carl Starnyski, 47, was set to stand trial last week but instead agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder in the May 2020 killing of 46-year-old Marie Monin.

Ten years is the minimum period of parole ineligibility available for offenders convicted of second-degree murder.

Court was told Starnyski’s guilty plea was a result of a plea bargain that recognized he could have argued at trial he was intoxicated when he stabbed Monin and did not intend to kill her. It would have opened the door to a conviction to the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Psychiatrist shortage leaves court-ordered mental health assessments to languish

Long wait times for psychiatric assessments to determine criminal responsibility are continuing to bog down criminal court cases.

Defence lawyers say it’s further hobbling the justice system as it struggles to deal with pandemic-related delays.

“As of February, there were continuing to be delays, particularly with respect to not criminally responsible assessments,” said Lisa LaBossiere, who is on the executive of the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba. “I can tell you of cases that have waited up to a year for an actual NCR assessment to happen, which is extremely concerning.”

Under the Criminal Code, court-ordered criminal responsibility assessments are required to be completed within 30 days, plus a 30-day extension, if necessary. If the report isn’t done in that time period, a new application must be made to the court.

Ex-Winnipeg CAO accepted bribe, could be on hook for $700K, court rules

Former City of Winnipeg CAO Phil Sheegl could be on the hook for more than $700,000 in damages and restitution after a judge agreed with the city’s claim he accepted a bribe tied to construction of the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters.

“The city has persuaded me… that the elements of bribery have been satisfied,” Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said in a 126-page ruling released Tuesday.

In a lawsuit filed in January 2020, the city alleges contractor Caspian Construction, “in concert” with two dozen other defendants, including Sheegl, conspired and “schemed” to inflate the cost of the project for their own benefit. The city filed its lawsuit after a five-year RCMP investigation ended with no charges.

The case against Sheegl was severed from that of the other defendants in 2020 after his lawyer, Robert Tapper, argued the allegations against Sheegl are separate from the allegations that form the substance of the city’s lawsuit.

Man pleads guilty to stabbing fellow bus rider for no reason

Raymond Hill and Justin James boarded a city transit bus as strangers May 24, 2020.

Minutes later, Hill collapsed outside the bus, and died from a stab wound to his abdomen as police took James into custody.

James, 48, pleaded guilty to manslaughter Thursday.

“This really was such an unprovoked, avoidable attack that took Raymond Hill’s life,” Crown attorney Colin Soul told provincial court Judge Murray Thompson, recommending James be sentenced to 10 years in prison.