Man charged in arson spree worked at two of the businesses targeted

A man accused of setting more than a dozen fires downtown and in the north part of the city has personal connections to at least two of the businesses that were targeted.

Jesse Wheatland, 35, who was arrested Monday and charged with multiple arson, break-in and damage-related offences that targeted restaurants and other places — including the constituency offices of two Manitoba cabinet ministers — had worked at both Commonwealth Kitchen and Bar and the Exchange Event Centre, the Free Press was told Thursday.

“He messaged me occasionally asking for work, so I gave him security shifts when available,” Commonwealth Kitchen and Bar owner Nikola Maharajh said.

“What makes it more odd… my understanding is he had good relations with everyone. He’s been around for a while. I always try to help people when they ask nicely, and he was always nice.”

Junel Trinidad, general manager of the Exchange Event Centre, said Wheatland worked for a few months as a bartender’s assistant in 2022, but was fired after poor behaviour.

“At the beginning, he was normal, just a regular person wanting to work and be a part of the culture,” Trinidad said. “Quickly, he turned out to be, for the lack of a better word, he just became weird in interactions with myself, the staff and the patrons. It was just not jibing.”

He said Wheatland lacked work ethic and wasn’t reliable.

On Tuesday around 7 p.m., police arrested a suspect near the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba treatment facility on Magnus Avenue in the North End. It’s one of the sites he’s alleged to have damaged over the past five months.

“At the beginning, he was normal, just a regular person wanting to work and be a part of the culture…he just became weird in interactions with myself, the staff and the patrons. ”

Winnipeg Police Service officials said the arrest was the result of collaboration between several of its units and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service during an extensive and complex investigation.

Police allege Wheatland committed 22 arson, break-in, and property-damage offences at 11 locations since June 11, including fires at the constituency offices of Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and her colleague Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith, as well as downtown bars and restaurants.

A Facebook account under the name Jesse Wheatland has posted comments in a Point Douglas community group, which is within Smith’s constituency.

The posts express opposition to a supervised consumption site — a project led by Smith — that had been proposed for the neighbourhood. The government scrapped that original plan following public pushback over the location and is now considering a new site nearby.

Investigators would not comment on a possible motive but confirmed the case is unrelated to previous extortion-related fires. They have also not ruled out his involvement in additional incidents.

“(The arrest) is a relief because one of our biggest fears when it comes to reopening was not having anyone arrested for the first fire.”

“(The arrest) is a relief because one of our biggest fears when it comes to reopening was not having anyone arrested for the first fire,” Maharajh said.

Wheatland is charged with 13 counts of arson causing property damage, two counts of break-and-enter and commit arson, one count of arson with disregard for human life, four counts of mischief under $5,000 and two counts of break-and-enter with intent. He remains in custody.

A court search showed Wheatland has no criminal convictions in Manitoba, and police said he was not previously known to them.

Wheatland is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

“I met with my client and we are waiting for police files before we proceed further,” his lawyer, Martin Glazer, said Thursday.

A LinkedIn profile in Wheatland’s name says his security expertise includes “uniformed guard service, loss prevention, events, traffic control and system monitoring.”

The profile listed him as head of security for a company, starting in 2018, and the owner of a mobile personal training service from 2014 to 2018.

The page said he obtained a provincial security guard licence in 2009.

Wheatland also worked odd jobs, including home renovations, say people who know him.

A contractor who briefly worked with him in June said Wheatland was on the job on a casual part-time basis.

Wheatland mentioned he used to work security for restaurants and bars, said the contractor, who asked not to be identified.

Former employers also said that Wheatland briefly worked for AC Security Inc. The company declined to comment on Thursday.

One of Wheatland’s cousins was shocked when she learned about his arrest from a Free Press reporter Wednesday night.

“This is terrible news,” said the cousin, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. “I don’t know what happened. He’s a good kid. He comes from a damn good home.”

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Tuesdays

A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world.

Sign up for Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The cousin said she had been worried about Wheatland for some time. She said he didn’t have a home of his own and worked odd jobs, sometimes staying in unoccupied homes he was hired to renovate.

She said she gave him rides and offered meals when he was in need. They last spoke about a month ago.

Wheatland grew up in the West End and attended Tec-Voc High School. One of his uncles is a retired firefighter, the cousin said.

— With files from Dean Pritchard and Chris Kitching

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott 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.