Gruesome attack shines spotlight on bail regulations Man charged in random stabbing Friday that left victim’s intestines exposed was awaiting sentence after pleading guilty to assault one day earlier By: Erik Pindera Posted: 7:00 PM CST Monday, Feb. 6, 2023

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This article was published 06/02/2023 (943 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man charged in a vicious, random downtown attack Friday that left the victim’s intestines partially exposed was in court one day earlier, pleading guilty to a previous assault, the Free Press has learned.

Multiple people are suspected of confronting the victim, who they did not know, in what a police source described as a “horrific” and “prolonged” assault using multiple weapons before they robbed him of his possessions.

Officers responded to a call just before 11 p.m. near the rear of the Bell Hotel at Main Street and Henry Avenue, where they found the 57-year-old victim on the ground.

He had been stabbed multiple times in the abdomen — exposing some intestines — and his arms and legs were cut.

“I don’t know how else to describe it; fierce, predatory,” the source said, adding one of abdominal wounds was seven to 10 centimetres long.

Officers began first aid before paramedics arrived. The man, now listed in stable condition, is expected to remain in hospital for an extended period of time.

Other police spotted three suspects walking a short distance south of the crime scene on the 500 block of Main Street shortly after the victim was found.

“(The officers) were coming northbound on Main Street when they observed three suspects walking southbound who appeared to be looking around to see if people were following them and kept looking at the cruiser car and looking away,” the source said.

“Those officers clued in and were able to stop the three.”

Three 20-year-old men were arrested; a knife and some of the victim’s property were seized. None of what was stolen was particularly valuable, the source said.

“I don’t know how else to describe it; fierce, predatory.”–Source

The three men have been charged with aggravated assault and robbery, while the third was also charged with failing to comply with the condition of a release order.

The names of the suspects have not yet been publicly released, as the investigation is ongoing.

However, court records show the man accused of failing to comply with the condition of a release order had pleaded guilty in provincial court to one count of assault causing bodily harm on Thursday. His sentencing was set for March 14.

He was released on bail after initially being charged with aggravated assault for an incident on April 2, 2022. That charge was downgraded to assault causing bodily harm, records show.

Another of the three men is facing an outstanding charge of possessing a weapon allegedly committed on Aug. 26, 2021.

Two of the three were scheduled to appear in bail court Monday; the other man’s next court appearance was slated Tuesday.

A recent Free Press review of homicides last year in Winnipeg found that in at least 16 cases the accused was already facing charges for other offences and was either out on bail, was the subject of an undertaking or actively wanted.

Of the 34 accused with prior records, at least 20 had been convicted of a violent crime.

Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen has been concerned about the bail system since the federal Liberals reformed the Criminal Code in 2019.

Among its sweeping changes, Bill 75 sought to streamline bail processes, improve measures to better respond to intimate partner violence, reduce delays in the court system and address the over-representation of Indigenous people and vulnerable populations in the system.

“There were some things in Bill 75 that were positive in terms of moving the court system more quickly, in terms of increasing some ability for higher maximum sentences… but I think one of the negative things and unintended consequences was that it essentially codified making bail much easier, even for violent offenders,” Goertzen, who has written to his federal counterpart pushing for changes, told the Free Press.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera

Erik Pindera
Reporter

Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020.  Read more about Erik.

Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.