Workers took shifts at alleged encampment chop shop: search warrant documents City staffer came across 900-square-foot workshop with dozens of bike frames, alerted police By: Dean Pritchard Posted: 4:48 PM CDT Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

City police investigating a suspected bicycle chop shop at a riverbank homeless encampment found evidence it was staffed by multiple people working in shifts, search warrant documents reveal.

The Winnipeg Police Service charged two men with possession of stolen property after executing a search warrant in August on a temporary structure at the encampment, located on the bank of the Red River near Gomez Street.

The search warrant, which was reviewed by the Free Press on Wednesday, was believed to be the first secured by city police for an encampment structure.

Search warrants are typically issued for a specific address, but in this instance the encampment structure was identified by its GPS coordinates.

Police were contacted after a city employee, identified as a “senior adviser on homelessness,” reported he had been conducting a “walkthrough” of the encampment on Aug. 11 when he “noticed a large structure that he did not believe was being used as a dwelling,” Const. Alexander Laser wrote in a document supporting the issuing of the search warrant.

“Within the confines of this structure (the city employee) observed 40 to 60 bike frames, tires, as well as several intact bicycles that (the employee) considered ‘high end,’” Laser wrote.

“(The employee) was concerned that this stash of bicycles, components and parts did not lawfully belong to anyone living on the riverbank.”

The employee, “who has knowledge about the resources and lifestyles of people inhabiting riverbank encampments, was concerned that this stash of bicycles, components and parts did not lawfully belong to anyone living on the riverbank.”

He took pictures from outside the structure and described it as being approximately 900 square feet, constructed with tarps on four sides, and containing multiple “rooms” and no roof. One of the walls was partially down, allowing the man to see inside.

The employee reported what he saw to police on Aug. 15. Laser and another police constable visited the encampment later that same day.

Laser said he and the other officer approached an open section of the structure and called out for anyone inside. A woman replied from what sounded like the far side of the structure and made her way to the officers.

The woman “appeared upset with our presence,” Laser said.

When the other constable asked the woman how she was doing “she replied that things were fine, and it was just ‘shift change’ and that it was her turn to ‘work,’” Laser said.

“Of note, our unit observed that (the woman) appeared well dressed, with clean, fresh-looking clothing, (and) with freshly applied makeup and done-up hair,” he said. “In our experience, (the woman) did not appear to be transient or suffer from a lack of resources that those experiencing homelessness or a transient lifestyle often do.”

“In our experience, (the woman) did not appear to be transient or suffer from a lack of resources that those experiencing homelessness or a transient lifestyle often do.”

Laser said the construction of the shelter suggested it was “built for the purpose of concealing the activity occurring within it.”

He said all observations of the contents of the shelter “were made from the publicly accessible pedestrian pathway… (and) could have been made by any member of the public.”

When executing the search warrant, police would work with community outreach workers to provide resources to any encampment occupants in need of assistance and would not be forcing the removal of anyone living there, Laser said.

The search warrant was executed on Aug. 27 and multiple stolen items were seized, including 50 bicycle frames, 77 bike tires, 53 bike tire rims, a gas generator, lawnmower, pressure washer and wheelchair.

Insp. Helen Peters said at the time the WPS wanted to treat the structure like anyone else’s residence and obtain a search warrant before investigating.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca