
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Someone once said a journalist is just a reporter in a good suit. Dean Pritchard doesn’t own a good suit. But he knows a good lawsuit.
Since covering his first trial for the Brandon Sun in 1999, Pritchard has logged more time in a courtroom than many of the veteran lawyers whose cases he has followed.
After leaving Brandon, Pritchard spent 12 years on the court beat for the Winnipeg Sun, returning to the beat in 2019 after a brief stint as a Free Press copy editor.
In covering cases that often capture people at their lowest, Pritchard strives for fairness and accuracy, without sacrificing the humanity at the core of the stories. In the words of one of his favourite literary gumshoes, Harry Bosch, “Everybody counts or nobody counts.”
When not running from one courtroom to another, Pritchard has been pepper-sprayed by police, spent an afternoon as a shopping mall Santa, jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and chugged a six-pack before noon to help Mounties test their new roadside screening device — all in the service of (he hopes) a good story. It’s a living.
In his off hours, Pritchard enjoys plucking away at his six string while trying to memorize all 14 verses of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Pritchard believes a great hat always beats a great haircut and that writing about oneself in the third person is a bit… weird.
Editors told Pritchard his bio should be at least 250 words, but as readers may have noticed, he’s not one to run off at the mouth.
Recent articles by Dean Pritchard
Doctor found ways to assault female patients: Crown
4 minute read Preview Yesterday at 5:25 PM CDTShooting death nets 18-year sentence
4 minute read Preview Updated: Yesterday at 10:17 AM CDTWoman to stand trial in 2018 stabbing death of husband
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 23, 2023A Manitoba woman has been found fit to stand trial in the slaying of her 85-year-old husband nearly five years ago.
Anne-Dore Maria Scheppner, 77, was charged with second-degree murder, after Hans George Scheppner was found stabbed to death July 21, 2018, inside their Henderson Highway apartment.
At the time, Winnipeg police said the man had been dead nearly a week when his wife was arrested.
Scheppner has been held at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre since she was found unfit to stand trial in July 2019. She has never applied for bail.
‘All examinations were medically indicated’: doctor on trial for sex assault defends practices
5 minute read Preview Updated: Yesterday at 5:03 AM CDTDoctor accused of sex assault testifies exams were consistent with training
3 minute read Preview Thursday, May. 18, 2023Convicted killer launches expletive-laden rant at judge after sentencing
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, May. 17, 2023Girlfriend testifies about slaying victim’s plan to steal winch, drug use
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 16, 2023Thieving neighbour caught in the act, killed by man who fled to Ontario, murder trial told
4 minute read Preview Monday, May. 15, 2023Killer sentenced for second slaying, of woman he met at bus stop
4 minute read Preview Friday, May. 12, 2023A Winnipeg man has been sentenced for the second time in 15 years to a double-digit prison term for killing a woman.
Silas Ammaklak pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the July 2020 slaying of 35-year-old Danielle Harper and was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison.
“Not only has Mr. Ammaklak showed himself to be a man prone to violence, he has showed himself to be unable or unwilling to take steps to reduce his risk to reoffend and unable or unwilling to control his violent impulses,” said King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond.
Ammaklak, 53, stood trial for second-degree murder in Harper’s death, but after four months of stop-and-start testimony, he agreed to enter a plea to manslaughter. Ammaklak entered his plea to the lesser charge on the understanding he did not intend to kill Harper, but that his actions “contributed” to her death.
Twelve years for racist slaying of cabbie
3 minute read Preview Friday, May. 12, 2023Reinstated appeal of sentence sought
5 minute read Preview Friday, May. 12, 2023Life sentence, no parole for 15 years for 2020 Lake Manitoba murder
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, May. 10, 2023Judge gives man 12 years for attacks on women
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, May. 10, 2023Defence lawyer’s illness leads to adjournment in doctor’s sex assault trial
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 9, 2023‘Not something a doctor does’; former patient tells Ste. Anne MD’s sex-assault trial about traumatic internal exam
3 minute read Preview Monday, May. 8, 2023Fourth woman testifies in trial of Ste. Anne doctor
3 minute read Preview Friday, May. 5, 2023‘I knew something wasn’t right and I didn’t say anything,’ doctor sex assault trial told
4 minute read Preview Thursday, May. 4, 2023Woman with stomach pain taken aback by doctor’s vaginal, rectal, breast exams, court told
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 2, 2023Woman who alleges family physician sexually assaulted her testifies
5 minute read Preview Monday, May. 1, 2023Court hears emotional statement from slain taxi driver’s grown children during sentencing hearing for mentally ill killer
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 27, 2023‘Vile, disgusting degrading’: drug dealer killed, dismembered man in case of mistaken identity
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 26, 2023Maximum youth sentence for teen’s violent rampage
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 25, 2023Man jailed after HSC worker caring for child has keys, credit card stolen
5 minute read Preview Monday, Apr. 24, 2023Forgiveness ‘most powerful gift’: pair sentenced for 2020 murder
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 20, 2023Court of appeal upholds acquittal in 2019 stabbing death
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 20, 2023Guilty plea marks offender’s second manslaughter conviction in 15 years
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 19, 2023Businessman fined for trading without licence
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 19, 2023fined for trading without licence
Two men sentenced for killing man they thought was someone else
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 18, 2023Father of six killed in case of mistaken identity, court told
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 18, 2023Ghost-gun maker handed harshest prison sentence in Canada
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 13, 2023Five months trafficking drugs nets three years in prison
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 12, 2023Ten years for unprovoked killing of homeless man
3 minute read Preview Saturday, Apr. 8, 2023A 21-year-old Winnipeg man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his lead role in the unprovoked, alcohol-fuelled beating death of a 52-year-old homeless man.
Killer’s father outs witnesses as ‘rats’
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 6, 2023Man who targeted escorts deserves 13 years: Crown
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 4, 2023Judge hands lottery-ticket thief $425-K ‘life sentence’
4 minute read Preview Friday, Apr. 7, 2023Killer tells judge he ‘will always love’ woman he stabbed to death in 2020
4 minute read Preview Friday, Mar. 31, 2023Mothers of victim, killer in road-rage tragedy tearfully embrace outside courtroom
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 30, 2023Judge agrees to withdraw woman’s manslaughter guilty plea in toddler stepson’s death
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2023A Winnipeg woman charged in the death of her two-year-old stepson has won her bid to withdraw her guilty plea to manslaughter.
Man admits criminal responsibility, sentenced to six years in prison
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2023Trial begins for fatal 2020 rush hour stabbing
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023Man pleads guilty to abusing girls at home daycare
2 minute read Preview Friday, Mar. 24, 2023A Winnipeg man has admitted to sexually abusing two young children at a home-based daycare where he lived.
Robert Prince, 37, appeared in court via video Friday and pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual interference, two counts of making child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Woman on run for 16 years sentenced to eight months
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 23, 2023Man asked nephew to punch him as punishment, but blow was fatal
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 22, 2023Accused driver in fatal high-speed crash was on bail after being charged in machete attack
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023Mountie sues RCMP after being bitten by police dog
2 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 21, 2023Discretionary sentencing powers are underused when it comes to Indigenous offenders, charge legal and rehabilitation professionals
15 minute read Preview Saturday, Mar. 18, 2023Man released from jail after murder conviction overturned
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 16, 2023Murder conviction in ‘rage-fuelled’ 2020 slaying of taxi driver
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 14, 2023Accuser’s testimony lacks credibility to convict retired priest of 1969 residential school sex assault, lawyer argues
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 9, 2023Trial testimony cathartic for residential school survivor; 93-year-old former priest denies 1969 indecent assault on child
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 7, 2023‘Not a momentary lapse’: judge sends man to prison after fatal drunk collision
2 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 7, 2023Province, Winnipeg police seek court dismissal of proposed vax class action
3 minute read Preview Friday, Mar. 3, 2023Man found guilty of attacking, robbing sex workers during two-week spree
3 minute read Preview Friday, Mar. 3, 2023Seven years for ‘life-altering’ hammer attack
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 1, 2023Judge delivers life sentence in ‘senseless tragedy’ fatal stabbing
2 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 1, 2023Lawyer off hook for taking down client’s Facebook account
4 minute read Preview Friday, Mar. 3, 2023Plea deal for speeding cop in serious crash sends dangerous message, lawyer argues
6 minute read Preview Monday, Feb. 27, 2023No parole option for 12 years for role in ‘horrific’ 2020 murder
3 minute read Preview Monday, Feb. 27, 2023Man convicted of mother’s 2019 murder released on bail pending appeal
4 minute read Preview Friday, Feb. 24, 2023Couple who severely abused twins appeal prison sentences
2 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023A Manitoba couple convicted of almost killing their twin babies due to months of abuse and neglect are appealing their double-digit prison sentences.
WPS officer charged in high-speed crash that resulted in critical injuries gets plea deal, pays speeding fine
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023Admitted killer convicted of murder in fatal stabbing
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023Stabbing intended to stop attack on woman, not kill her assailant, accused in murder trial testifies
4 minute read Preview Friday, Feb. 17, 2023Trafficker off to prison after appeal court rejects mental illness argument
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023Adult time sought for Ex shooter
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023Court finds disbarred immigration lawyer liable for $2.4M
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023Judge sends man to prison, has message to public for ‘beyond the pale’ bus stop attack
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023Brandon woman sues province, RHA for refusing to treat son with alcohol addiction
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023Air-travel issues creating crisis in northern circuit court system: chief judge
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023Court of Appeal upholds conviction, sentence in city lawyer’s murder
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023Judge sends man to prison for 13 years in unprovoked near-fatal stabbing on city bus
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023New trial ordered in West Broadway slaying in 2019
4 minute read Preview Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023Abusive father, husband gets break on sentence
4 minute read Preview Friday, Feb. 3, 2023Woman seeks to withdraw guilty plea in death of toddler
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023Couple charged with handing out cannabis candy insist they meant no harm
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023Couple accused of distributing cannabis had run out of Halloween candy: search warrants
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023Accused killer to be assessed by psychiatrist
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023Man pleads guilty in near-fatal 2021 knife attack aboard city bus
4 minute read Preview Monday, Feb. 6, 2023Five years for 2020 one-punch death
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 27, 2023A fatal attack on a 41-year-old Winnipeg man was met with “shocking” indifference by passersby, even after his body was dragged on to a busy Main Street roadway, a court has heard.
Judge acquits man of inflicting injuries on his toddler
4 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 27, 2023A judge acquitted a Winnipeg man Thursday of inflicting injuries on his toddler that left the girl blind and unable to speak — but made clear the ruling did not mean he thought the man was innocent.
Crown stays sex assault charges in first of three trials for Ste. Anne doctor
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023Adult sentence for Canada Day 2020 murder
5 minute read Preview Monday, Jan. 23, 2023Trial of doctor charged with sex assaults adjourned again
2 minute read Preview Monday, Jan. 23, 2023Church plea bargain nets $30K fine for breaking pandemic gathering orders
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023Two years house arrest for fake immigration consultant
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023Son who murdered mother to serve youth sentence
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023No parole eligibility for 10 years for 2021 murder
2 minute read Preview Monday, Jan. 9, 2023Man sues ex-coach’s estate
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023Crown drops fraud charge against disgraced former funeral director
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023Man charged with murders in Christmas Day apartment fire has previous arson convictions
6 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023Fire, lies, fake injuries: MPI annual top fraud list
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022Two men convicted of murder in 2020 beating death
5 minute read Preview Friday, Feb. 10, 2023Judge will take month to make ‘difficult’ bail decision for youth charged in library slaying
2 minute read Preview Friday, Dec. 23, 2022Woman pleads guilty, sentenced to life in prison in grandmother’s grisly murder
2 minute read Preview Friday, Dec. 23, 2022Bagel shop owner accused of drug trafficking
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022Cause of victim’s death couldn’t be determined, murder trial hears
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022Third sex-assault trial ordered for retired RCMP officer
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022Contempt sentence slashed after appeal by key witness
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Dec. 20, 202212 years for fatal attack outside beer vendor
3 minute read Preview Friday, Dec. 16, 2022Jury convicts Gimli man of murder in shooting of 20-year-old woman
5 minute read Preview Friday, Dec. 16, 2022Accused serial killer’s lawyer concerned about disclosure
2 minute read Preview Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022Guilty charge in stabbing death
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022Killer denied Balaquit family ‘basic dignity of closure,’ judge says, handing down 16-year sentence
4 minute read Preview Monday, Dec. 12, 2022Mental illness caused fatal stabbing of cabbie: defence
4 minute read Preview Friday, Dec. 9, 2022Notorious wife-killer granted day parole
2 minute read Preview Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022Hard time for parents who severely abused twins
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022Crown seeks life sentence for 2021 manslaughter
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022Man said he should get life for slaying, court told
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022‘I could rip their… soul open’: Man accused of killing cabbie told police he felt disrespected
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022Booze, rage fuelled killing of innocent woman on rural road, trial told
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022Nygard lawyer Prober reprimanded for comments on alleged victims
5 minute read Preview Monday, Nov. 28, 2022‘Strong message must be sent’: 19 years for internet luring, child porn
5 minute read Preview Friday, Nov. 25, 2022Man accused of killing cabbie made racist remarks, court told
3 minute read Preview Friday, Nov. 25, 2022Fatal stabbing of cab driver fuelled by prepayment request: Crown
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022‘Can’t imagine the horror they went through’: man not criminally responsible for 2021 random double homicide
6 minute read Preview Monday, Nov. 21, 2022‘Scared for my life:’ accused killer says he was acting in self-defence
4 minute read Preview Friday, Nov. 18, 2022Crown asks for adult sentence in 2019 murder
5 minute read Preview Monday, Nov. 7, 2022Guilty pleas in group attack on northern woman
3 minute read Preview Friday, Nov. 4, 2022Courts wrong place to deal with prison and parole racism, judge says
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022Officer just doing his job by seizing media camera, judge told
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022A Winnipeg police officer wasn’t infringing on freedom of the press when he seized a photojournalist’s camera at a crime scene, a judge was told Wednesday.
Ex-cadet leader gets 13 years for child luring
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022Charge stayed against mom whose baby was found dead
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022Drunk driver who killed friend appeals conviction
3 minute read Preview Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022No recommendations in inquest report after suicide in soon-to-be-replaced police station
2 minute read Preview Friday, Oct. 28, 2022A newly released inquest report has made no recommendations in the case of a man who committed suicide while in custody in a Winnipeg police holding room with no video monitoring.
Man jailed 23 months for assault on toddler
3 minute read Preview Friday, Oct. 28, 2022Accused killer tells court he doesn’t recall stabbing girlfriend, apologizes to her family
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022Exhausted, stressed Crown attorneys leaving Manitoba’s prosecutions branch, advocacy group says
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022Monk sentenced to 11 years for child sex abuse
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022City firm files $1-M suit against Assiniboine Park Conservancy
2 minute read Preview Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022Crown seeks adult sentences for youth in 2020 shooting spree
4 minute read Preview Monday, Oct. 24, 2022Man charged in recent slaying was free on bail, accused of assaulting bus driver
4 minute read Preview Friday, Oct. 21, 2022First-degree murder charges for teens accused in Main Street homicide
2 minute read Preview Friday, Oct. 21, 2022Suspects released, legal expert asks why
4 minute read Preview Friday, Oct. 21, 2022‘He was hurting her’: Girl tried to protect mom
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022Prosecutors take rural collision case to appeals court
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022Crown to seek life for teen accused in bridge killing
3 minute read Preview Friday, Oct. 14, 2022New trial ordered in police assault case
6 minute read Preview Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022Court ruling gives man hope police will probe mom’s 2004 death
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022Community’s support sways judge in sentencing drunk driver who killed friend
5 minute read Preview Friday, Oct. 7, 2022Man guilty of killing 28-year-old woman as she slept
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022Nearly two years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022Family robbed of father, son, speak of grief at trucker’s sentencing
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022Man charged in bus sex assaults
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022Wracked with anger, man who killed daughter blames ex and her family
6 minute read Preview Thursday, Sep. 29, 2022Judge puts river-trail attacker behind bars for 14 years
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2022One suspect, 69 charges in series of break-ins: police
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2022Winnipeg police property crime investigators have arrested a man accused in a nine-month spree of break-ins.
Rookie Tory MLA hit with lawsuit
3 minute read Preview Monday, Sep. 26, 2022Three arrested in St. Norbert slaying
3 minute read Preview Friday, Sep. 23, 2022City police use decoy bikes to arrest four thieves
2 minute read Preview Thursday, Sep. 22, 2022North to run for Manitoba grand chief
1 minute read Preview Wednesday, Sep. 21, 2022Young enough to work, too old for benefits?
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, Sep. 20, 2022Son sentenced in mom’s slaying; family wishes him ‘a better life’
4 minute read Preview Friday, Sep. 16, 2022Family members still grieving the slaying of a 35-year-old St. Theresa Point woman told a judge her killer — her son — remains loved and prayed he will “get the help he needs” in prison.
Battered woman admits to killing husband
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Sep. 15, 2022Man accused of stabbing stranger downtown released three times on separate charges
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Sep. 14, 2022Probation ‘exercise in futility’ for accused in sex crimes, court told
3 minute read Preview Monday, Sep. 12, 2022Good deeds don’t erase drug broker’s crimes, judge rules
4 minute read Preview Sunday, Sep. 11, 2022New name for Manitoba court after Queen’s death
1 minute read Preview Friday, Sep. 9, 2022No parole for 13 years for ‘particularly brutal’ strangling
3 minute read Preview Friday, Sep. 9, 2022Defence fights second psych assessment of man charged with killing Lorette couple
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Sep. 7, 2022Serial killer’s parole eligibility offically shortened
3 minute read Preview Friday, Sep. 2, 2022Frustrated judge hands drunk driver 51-month term
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Sep. 1, 2022False confession claim in bid to withdraw manslaughter plea
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022Winnipeg woman fined for crash that killed daughter
4 minute read Preview Monday, Aug. 29, 2022Mending battered twins’ broken babyhood
5 minute read Preview Friday, Aug. 26, 2022Road rager sentenced to 10 months in jail
3 minute read Preview Friday, Aug. 26, 2022Judge fines five defiant, repeated COVID rule-breakers total of more than $100K
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022Unrepentant pandemic health-order violators await sentencing
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022Court asked to stop Dakota Tipi election after conflict alleged
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022Assault charge stayed against daycare operator
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022Prosecutors have stayed criminal proceedings against an unlicensed daycare operator who was accused of assaulting an infant in her care, just two months after she lost her fight to quash her trial.
Priest accused in residential school sex assault pleads not guilty
1 minute read Preview Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022Headingley women’s jail hit by COVID outbreak
2 minute read Preview Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022Internet predator who sought break handed longer sentence
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022CFS fails to get girl to court for trial of man charged with sexually assaulting her
4 minute read Preview Monday, Aug. 15, 2022The trial of a Manitoba man accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl had to be adjourned last week after the child-welfare agency responsible for her care failed to get her to court.
No parole for 12 years for 2020 murder
3 minute read Preview Friday, Aug. 5, 2022Anti-lockdown quintuple lose charter challenge ahead of trial
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022Killer tells court he thinks about friend, can’t explain why he pulled trigger
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022Man pleads guilty to manslaughter
4 minute read Preview Friday, Jul. 29, 2022Woman convicted in slaying of Bolivian immigrant
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jul. 27, 2022Court dismisses charter challenge in 2021 double homicide case
4 minute read Preview Friday, Jul. 22, 2022Three charged in stabbing of Ukrainian refugee at The Forks
2 minute read Preview Friday, Jul. 22, 2022No trial date, no comment: family accused of staged hate crime left Canada in 2020
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jul. 20, 2022Crown appeals decision of police entrapment
2 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jul. 19, 2022Ex-staffer sues Headingley jail over alleged sexual assault
4 minute read Preview Monday, Jul. 18, 2022Crown blocks challenge by anti-lockdown protesters
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jul. 15, 2022‘Victimization of children spanned the globe’: Crown seeks 22 years for internet luring, child porn
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jul. 13, 2022Judge rules man’s rights violated, but upholds sentence
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jul. 13, 2022Judge cites intoxication, brain injury in manslaughter conviction
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jul. 12, 2022A Pukatawagan man who admitted beating a 22-year-old woman to death with a rock has been found not guilty of second-degree murder after a judge ruled he was so impaired by alcohol he could not form the intent to kill.
In a decision released last month, Queen’s Bench Justice James Edmond convicted 24-year-old August Thunder Caribou of the lesser offence of manslaughter in the June 24, 2020, killing of Treena Castel.
“I am not satisfied that the Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was able to form the specific intent to kill Ms. Castel,” Edmond said.
Caribou killed Castel the same day he graduated high school and four days after finishing his last shift working as a guard at the Pukatawagan RCMP detachment.
Assailant given 4½ years for ‘brutal’ attack
3 minute read Preview Saturday, Jul. 2, 2022A judge has sentenced a Winnipeg man to 4 1/2 years in prison for a fatal attack on a stranger.
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.
“Mr. Smith’s actions were… brutal and brazen,” Queen’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond said Thursday. “This is callous street violence and is totally unacceptable in our community.”
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. Inside the backpack were a glass bong and metal canteen.
No parole for 20 years for 2020 torture, murder
6 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jun. 29, 2022Sex convictions quashed: judge finds man entrapped by police
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jun. 28, 2022Woman accused of assault on toddler loses custody appeal
3 minute read Preview Monday, Jun. 27, 2022Police HQ contractor accused of altering invoices to settle old debts
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jun. 24, 2022Teen found guilty of murder in mother’s bludgeoning death
6 minute read Preview Thursday, Jun. 23, 2022Like mother, like son when it comes to manslaughter
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jun. 22, 2022Crown, defence clash in closing arguments for trial of teen accused of matricide
5 minute read Preview Monday, Jun. 20, 2022House arrest for ex-Goldeye who assaulted ice-fisher
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jun. 17, 2022Man shot by police in highway chase has record of auto-theft offences
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Jun. 16, 2022Man sentenced to 10 years for fatal shooting
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Jun. 16, 2022Defence grills slain woman’s co-worker
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jun. 15, 2022No parole application for seven years for 2019 slaying
4 minute read Preview Monday, Jun. 13, 2022Man lacked intent to kill Good Samaritan, judge rules
4 minute read Preview Friday, Jun. 10, 2022Jonathan Flett admits he hit a Good Samaritan nine times in the head with a hammer so forcefully that it became lodged in the victim’s skull, but a judge has ruled he had no intent to kill the man.
Flett, 20, stood trial last April for attempted murder in relation to a Sept. 1, 2020, attack that severely injured 27-year-old Zachary Fitzsimmons.
Flett, who is cognitively challenged and was impaired by alcohol at the time of the attack, had agreed at the start of trial to plead guilty to the lesser offence of aggravated assault — but the Crown didn’t accept the plea.
“The only issue at trial was whether Mr. Flett possessed the specific intent to end Mr. Fitzsimmons’s life,” Queen’s Bench Justice Theodor Bock wrote in a 16-page ruling Friday. “Despite the Crown’s very able submission, the evidence does not persuade me beyond a reasonable doubt of Mr. Flett’s guilt on the charge of attempted murder.”
New trial after court quashes 2020 murder conviction
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jun. 10, 2022Five years for killing ‘kind-hearted’ senior
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jun. 8, 2022Mother beaten to death with ‘tremendous amount of force’
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jun. 8, 2022Mom relied heavily on accused killer son, murder trial told
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Jun. 7, 2022No bail for Quebecer accused of defrauding local seniors
4 minute read Preview Saturday, May. 28, 2022Police have arrested a 27-year-old Quebecer for her part in a telephone scam that cheated five Winnipeg seniors out of more than $50,000.
Jasmine Ryan was arrested May 8 and charged with more than two dozen fraud-related offences.
“Given the number of allegations and the pattern of the allegations… this is only the tip of the iceberg of what may be an organized-crime group carrying out significant financial crimes targeted at elderly and vulnerable victims,” prosecutor Larissa Campbell told provincial court Judge Rachel Rusen at a bail hearing last week.
Police allege a woman matching Ryan’s description used falsified identification to withdraw $5,000 from a Winnipeg TD Bank customer’s account last January. Subsequent attempts to withdraw money from customer accounts at other banks were denied after bank staff became suspicious that the woman could not remember the addresses on her identification or properly pronounce the names, Campbell said.
Ten minutes of sheer road-rage terror
4 minute read Preview Thursday, May. 26, 2022Killer pleads guilty in three-year-old daughter’s fatal stabbing
4 minute read Preview Thursday, May. 26, 2022Woman gets 14 years for role in 2020 slaying
4 minute read Preview Thursday, May. 26, 2022Youth carried out ‘elaborate… deliberate plan’ to kill mother and cover tracks, jurors told
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 24, 2022‘Calculated and cunning’ harasser off to prison
5 minute read Preview Friday, May. 20, 2022Man accused of killing parents, attacking nurse, headed for trial
2 minute read Preview Friday, May. 20, 2022Grisly discovery leads to first-degree murder charge
7 minute read Preview Friday, May. 20, 2022Man who beat victim to death with bat given chance to change plea after Supreme Court ruling
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, May. 18, 2022Crown asks for minimum 16 years without parole for 2019 murder
3 minute read Preview Monday, May. 16, 2022Witnessing stabbing death of husband led woman to take own life, family tells court
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, May. 18, 2022Crown quotes accused: ‘Rats deserve to die’
3 minute read Preview Thursday, May. 12, 2022Six months for man who fled fatal collision
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, May. 11, 2022Springs Church fined $9,000 for breaching public health orders
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 10, 2022Judge finds cop not guilty of assault, points to Crown’s decisions in ruling
5 minute read Preview Monday, May. 9, 2022Judge rejected bid from Balaquit killer’s lawyer to take case away from jury
5 minute read Preview Thursday, May. 5, 2022Widow cries out as jury finds man guilty in Balaquit’s death
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, May. 4, 2022‘Trail of death and of debits’: closing arguments made in Balaquit homicide case
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 3, 2022Court hears challenge to Manitoba personal cannabis growth ban
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 3, 2022Duress to play key role in murder trial
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, May. 3, 2022Couple headed to prison for sex acts with boys, dogs
3 minute read Preview Friday, Apr. 29, 2022Creditors had sought accused in days before Balaquit slaying, police testify
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 27, 2022Accused in Balaquit slaying had victim’s bank info, police testify
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 26, 2022Accused killer drowning in debt, court told
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 26, 2022Garden biz on hook for illegal composting
3 minute read Preview Saturday, Apr. 23, 2022Nygard challenging extradition order to U.S.
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 21, 2022Judge urged to deliver life sentence to two-time killer
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 21, 2022Detective testifies about accused’s reaction during arrest
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 20, 2022Thief tells manslaughter trial he broke into van, stole wallet on night Balaquit went missing
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 19, 2022Lawyer guilty of professional misconduct can return to work under supervision
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 19, 2022Man who left body fluid on children’s clothes spared from record
4 minute read Preview Saturday, Apr. 16, 2022Former Winnipeg CAO ordered to pay $327K to city in police HQ case
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 14, 2022Serial harasser deserves credit for pleading guilty: defence
6 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2022Balaquit homicide trial delayed in advance of storm
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2022Life-altering hammer attack not attempt to kill, court told
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 12, 2022Ex-RCMP officer sentenced to two years for cocaine possession
3 minute read Preview Monday, Apr. 11, 2022Nearly four years after he was charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, one-time RCMP officer Wayne Shuttleworth lost his last bid to delay going into custody.
On Monday, a judge rejected Shuttleworth’s motion to adjourn sentencing so he could hire a new lawyer, and sentenced him to two years in prison.
“I am concerned what I have heard this morning is another attempt on Mr. Shuttleworth’s part to try and delay this matter further,” said Queen’s Bench Justice Candace Grammond.
Shuttleworth, who had already changed lawyers two times since his arrest in May 2018, told court he had “issues” with his current lawyer, Jonathan Pinx, and his decision not to request the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
Sex offender’s disabilities impact sentence
3 minute read Preview Friday, Apr. 8, 2022Man acquitted of assaulting police after ‘significant concerns’ in officer testimony
4 minute read Preview Friday, Apr. 8, 2022Cross Lake woman to spend minimum 12 years in prison for grandmother’s ‘reprehensible’ murder
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 7, 2022A Cross Lake woman who beat her 93-year-old grandmother and then left her to die as she set her house on fire has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 12 years.
Leona Rosa Blacksmith, 40, was convicted of second-degree murder following a trial last year.
Edith Blacksmith died Aug. 9, 2019, after police, searching for Leona Blacksmith in connection to an unrelated assault on a different person a day earlier, pulled the senior from her burning home at Pimicikamak Cree Nation, more than 500 air kilometres north of Winnipeg.
A pathologist found Edith Blacksmith suffered blunt-force injuries to her head and body, as well as an intentionally inflicted burn wound to her left thigh, but died as the result of smoke inhalation.
Nine years for unprovoked fatal stabbing on city bus
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Apr. 7, 2022Judge sends German citizen to prison in ‘extraordinarily tragic’ Manitoba hunting death
5 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 6, 2022More jurors test positive for COVID, manslaughter trial on hold until next week
2 minute read Preview Wednesday, Apr. 6, 2022Accused in Balaquit slaying placed at scene, court told
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Apr. 5, 2022Accused killer ‘driven by desperation,’ court told
4 minute read Preview Monday, Apr. 4, 2022Hammer attack leaves Good Samaritan with lifelong injuries
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 31, 2022Accused sex offender guilty of past indecent acts
2 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 31, 2022Man sentenced for vicious assault on gang underling
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 31, 2022No parole for 10 years for man who killed girlfriend
3 minute read Preview Friday, Apr. 1, 2022Man pleads guilty to viciously killing mom
3 minute read Preview Monday, Mar. 28, 2022A Manitoba man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for bludgeoning his mother, claiming he “snapped” after she told him she wished he were dead.
The mandatory sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison. Lawyers for the Crown and defence have jointly recommended Kelton Wood be able to apply for parole after serving 10 years in custody, the minimum term allowed under the Criminal Code.
Charlotte Wood, 35, died Sept. 24, 2020, as the result of blunt force trauma to the head. She was stabbed 70 times all over her body and had several burn injuries to her arm, back and thigh.
Kelton Wood, 18 at the time of the killing, will return to court for sentencing in June following the completion of reports looking into his background and prospects for rehabilitation.
Psychiatrist shortage leaves court-ordered mental health assessments to languish
5 minute read Preview Sunday, Mar. 20, 202230 years for decades of child sex abuse
5 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 17, 2022Ex-Winnipeg CAO accepted bribe, could be on hook for $700K, court rules
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 16, 2022Teen accused in park slaying had ‘instruction book on murder’: Crown
5 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 15, 2022Man pleads guilty to stabbing fellow bus rider for no reason
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 10, 2022City cop off the hook in ticket-fixing case
4 minute read Preview Friday, Mar. 11, 2022Family wins battle over cemetery plot, fights to have body moved
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 9, 2022Second teen charged with murder in Assiniboine Park slaying
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 8, 2022Judge rules licence should be returned to former pharmacist convicted in U.S. probe
4 minute read Preview Monday, Mar. 7, 2022Three plead guilty in 2020 torture, murder
4 minute read Preview Saturday, Mar. 5, 2022Court orders Brandon police to pay woman in intimate photos case
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 3, 2022Teen boy in hospital ‘primary suspect’ in park slaying, accused girl’s lawyer says
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Mar. 3, 2022Plea bargain reached in cold-blooded killing of ex-inmate
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2022Accused in vendor slaying got break in 2020 robbery
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Mar. 2, 2022‘No longer feel safe’ after attack, senior tells court
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2022Killer of 96-year-old loses appeal
4 minute read Preview Friday, Feb. 25, 2022Life sentence for ‘morally reprehensible’ killing
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022Taxpayers on hook for $19M after Tories interfered in U of M contract
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022Reserve files suit over logging in western Manitoba
2 minute read Preview Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022Seven years for alcohol-fuelled fatal stabbing
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022A Winnipeg woman who stabbed a city bootlegger and left him to die in his apartment has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
Shyla Walker, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the August 2019 killing of 64-year-old John Graham Buesnel.
“This was not a crime Ms. Walker just got caught up in,” Crown attorney David Burland told Queen’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond at a sentencing hearing Wednesday. “She stabbed him multiple times and left him to die.”
According to an agreed statement of facts provided to court, Buesnel made wine, which he sold out of his Elgin Street apartment. Walker and her sister Taylor Lapierre, who was also initially charged in the killing, and their mother, were drinking at Buesnel’s apartment when the sisters got into an argument with Buesnel that turned physical.
Suit alleges girl assaulted while in CFS care
3 minute read Preview Friday, Feb. 18, 2022A Winnipeg woman, who alleges she was sexually assaulted as a child after being temporarily placed in a hotel with no supervision, is suing the province and West Region Child and Family Services
The woman was nine years old in 1997 when she was taken into short-term voluntary care and lodged at Place Louis Riel Suite Hotel for two weeks while her mother received psychiatric care, according to a statement of claim filed this month.
The woman shared a room with a boy who was also in care, and they sleept in separate beds, with no adult supervision, the statement of claim alleges.
On her second night at the hotel, the boy sexually assaulted her.
Churches, pastors off financial hook after losing pandemic court challenge
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022Man sexually assaulted generations of same family over 25 years
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022Convict loses bid to withdraw guilty plea 10 years later
3 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022Ten years after she admitted beating a frail customer to death, a former Winnipeg sex-trade worker has lost a legal fight to withdraw her guilty plea to second-degree murder.
Mary Ellen Thomas, 41, was sentenced in December 2011 to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 10 years, in the July 2010 killing of 62-year-old Michael Allen.
In a decision last week, Manitoba’s highest court rejected Thomas’s claim her guilty plea was compromised by severe mental illness and thus not voluntary.
“Although the accused has undoubtedly had severe mental health problems for years, and sought the prospect of a change from her custodial situation and the availability of long-term psychiatric care when she decided to plead guilty… she has not established that her guilty plea was not voluntary and resulted in a miscarriage of justice,” Manitoba Court of Appeal Justice Karen Simonsen wrote in a decision delivered Feb. 11.
Errors by Crown, police undermine fair trial, search for truth in drunk driving case: judge
4 minute read Preview Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022Charges against a semi-truck driver accused of drunk driving have been tossed out of court after a judge ruled “misrepresentations” by police and a failure by the Crown to provide key evidence to the defence before it was “lost” critically undermined his right to a fair trial.
“A judicial stay is an extraordinary remedy reserved for the clearest of cases,” provincial court Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta said in a recently released written decision. “In the unusual circumstances of this case… the lost evidence not only prejudices the accused’s right to a fair trial, but also deprives the court of its ability to seek the truth and appropriately adjudicate the case on its merits.
“I am unable to identify any remedy short of a stay of proceedings that sufficiently redresses the prejudice occasioned by the loss of evidence arising from unsatisfactorily explained, unacceptable negligence on the part of the Crown.”
According to court records, Partap Waraich was arrested May 2, 2019, after a tow truck driver called RCMP to report a semi-truck and trailer being driven erratically on the Trans-Canada Highway near Virden.
Family of slain lawyer offers forgiveness to killer
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022Men ‘fess up after star witness testifies
2 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022Two men pay for their part in separate killings
4 minute read Preview Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022Accused given benefit of doubt in night hunting case
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022TWO Manitoba men caught in a truck with a rifle and ammunition at the ready as they shone flashlights into a farmer’s field were found not guilty of night hunting.
A judge ruled she could not outright reject their claim they were just looking around.
Richard Gilbert Fontaine and Jeffrey Lohr-Mansbridge stood trial charged with hunting at night without a permit and hunting on private land without the owner’s permission.
“Is it suspicious that Mr. Fontaine and Mr. Lohr-Mansbridge were driving around in the middle of the night with the light bar on and moving flashlights over the field? Yes, of course it is,” provincial court Judge Catherine Carlson wrote in her decision acquitting the men.
Lawsuit delayed is lawsuit denied
4 minute read Preview Monday, Jan. 31, 2022Manitoba parents found guilty of severely abusing their twins
3 minute read Preview Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022A rural Manitoba couple has been convicted of child abuse and neglect after their young twins were apprehended with dozens of broken bones and other injures medical authorities described as “medically devastating.”
Both offenders were convicted of two counts each of failing to provide the necessaries of life and criminal negligence causing bodily harm following a virtual hearing Friday before Queen’s Bench Justice Sandra Zinchuk. The mother was convicted of two additional counts of aggravated assault.
The parents cannot be named in order to protect the identity of their children.
In July 2019, child welfare authorities seized the one-year-old children after social workers visited the couple’s farm and found the children bruised and malnourished. They were in clear medical distress.
Man’s arrest ‘ugly side of policing’: defence
3 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022A Winnipeg man on trial for assaulting two police officers says police mistakenly identified him as a suspected criminal before forcefully taking him to the ground and repeatedly shocking him with a Taser.
“This case displays the ugly side of policing in downtown Winnipeg,” Shaun Anobis’s lawyer, Martin Pollock, told a judge in a closing argument earlier this week.
“This case concerns stereotyping, embellishment, deception and the substandard professionalism of these officers,” Pollock said.
Anobis, 38, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
Drug trafficker gets ‘incredible break’ for pleading guilty
2 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022A Winnipeg man ensnared in an interprovincial police sting that targeted high-volume cocaine traffickers has been sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison.
Nyke Thorpe, 41, was one of seven Manitobans and four Ontario residents arrested in October 2020 following a joint Winnipeg Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police investigation dubbed Project Wonders.
The crime group’s core activities involved moving multiple kilograms of cocaine from southern Ontario to Winnipeg using traditional parcel and courier services and delivering millions of dollars in proceeds back to Ontario the same way.
Thorpe, who pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking cocaine, came to the attention of investigators in February 2020 after he was spotted completing a suspected drug deal with one of Project Wonders’ primary targets, Crown attorney Matthew Sinclair told court Wednesday.
First Nation seeks court order to halt logging in provincial park
2 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022No parole eligibility for 12 years for 2018 murder
3 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022‘Inordinately high’ $500-K defamation award slashed on appeal
3 minute read Preview Monday, Jan. 24, 2022Man deemed not criminally responsible for 2020 homicide
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 21, 2022Demon ‘from hell’ drove accused to kill housemate, court told
4 minute read Preview Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022City construction firm allegedly swindled out of $410K
4 minute read Preview Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022Unvaccinated U of W Collegiate instructors sue over forced leave
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 14, 2022Repeat sex offender ‘must be separated from society’: judge
3 minute read Preview Friday, Jan. 14, 2022A repeat sex offender from Winnipeg who started luring new child victims just hours after he was released from prison on day parole has been sentenced to 14 years in custody for his latest string of crimes.
“I’m not sure if you are able to be rehabilitated or not — I certainly hope so, for the children — but you must be separated from society for a significant amount of time… to keep you away from children for as long as possible,” provincial court Judge Kael McKenzie told David Thomas Pearson at a sentencing hearing Tuesday.
Pearson, 39, pleaded guilty last year to five counts of internet luring involving five girls between the ages of 12 and 16, one count of possessing child pornography and one count of violating a court order he have no contact with children under 16.
Pearson appeared in court via video from Bowden Institution in Alberta, where he is serving the remainder of a prior six-year sentence for child luring offences.