Suspect in Main Street slaying has lengthy criminal history

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This article was published 29/05/2023 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man wanted by Winnipeg police for his alleged role in a Main Street slaying has a lengthy history of violent crime and weapons offences.

Aaron Wayne Azure, 38, was named as a suspect in the May 10 death of Vincent Brian Kipling, 31, last week.

Kipling, who sustained serious injuries after an assault just before 11 p.m., was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Homicide detectives obtained a warrant for Azure, who is wanted for manslaughter in the killing.

Azure, who remains at large, should be considered armed and dangerous, police say. He’s described as six-foot-two with a medium build. Investigators ask anyone with information to call homicide detectives at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477,

A review of court records shows Azure has been convicted of 10 assaults since 2005, including one count of assault causing bodily harm and another of assaulting a peace officer.

He’s also been convicted of uttering threats three times, five weapons offences, one count each of forcible entry, theft under $5,000 and mischief, as well as a slew of administrative breaches.

Azure also has pending charges yet to be heard in court — including three counts of possessing a firearm contrary to a prohibition order — allegedly committed last November, for which he’s due in court in June, court records show.

On May 3, he’s alleged to have committed a further two counts of possessing a firearm contrary to a prohibition order, a robbery with a firearm and failing to comply with the condition of a police undertaking, specifically that he not possess weapons.

Azure was given a lifetime firearm prohibition in March 2021 following a provincial court hearing for two weapons offences and breaching a release order.

Azure was under a prohibition barring him from possessing weapons when patrolling police spotted him lurking near an Arlington Street beer vendor late one night in July 2019.

Court heard the officers were patrolling in the area as it was known as a place of high crime, including violence, drug trafficking and property crime — particularly bicycle thefts — when they saw Azure in the shadows near Lipstixx strip club and bar with two bicycles.

“The police approach this male, they want to speak with him, obviously they’re concerned he might be in possession of a stolen bicycle. The male advises that he’s waiting for someone in the vendor, however the police indicate he’s waiting in the dark north of the vendor doors,” Crown prosecutor Vanessa Gama told court.

He then gave them a false name, Gama said, and ditched a small baggie from his hand before taking off running through the parking lot.

As police chased him, he dropped a backpack, court heard. He was arrested for dropping what was suspected drugs and the two officers got him in handcuffs.

He had a firearm attached to a string slung over his shoulder and chest — Gama said he had fashioned a fabric belt as a sash, then tied a shoelace to the belt and to a gun.

Gama noted the gun wasn’t loaded and wasn’t functional in the moment — the break-action shotgun was missing a barrel.

He was held until a bail hearing that December, when he was released to the custody of his sister in Selkirk. He was ordered to live at her home, but fled to go stay with his girlfriend in Winnipeg in early January 2020 and was quickly arrested for the breach.

He remained in custody until the March 2021 hearing and was released in consideration of the 406 days he spent locked up at Brandon’s jail.

Gama and Azure’s defence attorney had jointly recommended that sentence, the equivalent of 20 months. Judge Cynthia Devine agreed, also ordering the lifetime weapons ban.

His lawyer, David Walker, told court that Azure had a “extremely difficult background.”

He was born in Flin Flon to parents who had gone to residential schools and suffered significant trauma before he was taken into foster care at the age of two. His foster father later died in his youth and his biological father was murdered, which led him on a path toward substance abuse and other bad choices.

erik.pindera@winnipegfreepress.com

Twitter: @erik_pindera