Rural residents ‘outraged’ property owner charged after shots fired during confrontation with alleged thieves: MLA

A rural Manitoba MLA says he has heard from constituents who are “shocked and outraged” that a 66-year-old man is facing charges after he fired shots at a group of people accused of stealing from his property.

“This isn’t vigilante justice. This isn’t about someone going out and trying to settle scores,” Josh Guenter, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Borderland, said Thursday.

“This is about Manitobans who have crime perpetrated on them, and what they’re able to do in that moment, to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their property.”

Officers were sent to property in the Rural Municipality of Dufferin, located about 95 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, on Saturday after a report of a theft in progress. RCMP said four people who had been on the property earlier in the day returned that evening, driving two vehicles stolen from Watrous, Sask.

Police said the man was alerted by a motion-activated camera and he saw them transferring fuel from a portable container into one of the stolen vehicles.

During a confrontation with the group before police arrived, he fired shots toward their vehicles. Three suspects remained at the scene and were arrested. Various items believed to have been taken from the property were found in the back of one of the trucks. A fourth suspect fled in the other vehicle.

The homeowner has been charged with careless use of a firearm, using a firearm in the commission of an offence and discharging a firearm in a reckless manner.

“I think there’s widespread outrage and widespread recognition that our laws need to change,” Guenter said, adding the response reflects broader frustration with property crime in rural Manitoba, where he said cellphone service can be poor or nonexistent and police response times can be longer.

The RM has dealt with property crime intermittently for years, said Reeve Cor Lodder.

“Like any criminal activity, it seems to be sporadic,” Lodder said. “It gets quiet for a while, and then suddenly you have a rash of these types of things.”

Lodder said thefts have affected farmyards and local businesses, with power tools and fuel among the items being targeted.

He said some incidents appear to involve repeat offenders or groups returning to properties.

“People finally say, ‘Well, listen, enough already. How am I going to protect myself?’” he said.

Jim Dudgeon, a retired military police officer and longtime firearms user, said he believes the homeowner should have been able to use his firearm if he feared his life was in danger.

“That seems to be the police reaction in every case,” Dudgeon said of the charges. “Even if they sympathize with the owner, they seem to have a tendency to lay a charge and let the court figure it all out.”

Dudgeon also acknowledged there should be limits to when a firearm is used.

“For example, if you know somebody’s fleeing your home with something they stole. I don’t think you’re entitled to shoot him. He’s not being a threat.”

Based on the information he had seen about the incident, Dudgeon believes the Dufferin property owner was justified in confronting the group.

Rod Giltaca, the CEO and Executive Director of the Canadian Coalition for Firearms Rights, said the situation is complicated.

Giltaca has experience as a firearms instructor and in law-enforcement training, and said he believes firearms should be available for self-defence.

But like Dudgeon, he said he does not believe property owners should automatically be allowed to use deadly force against someone stealing from them.

“Is the death penalty at the hands of a homeowner for theft? Is that reasonable? Of course it isn’t,” he said. “I don’t think anybody wants a system where it’s like, ‘Yeah, if I didn’t invite you, I could kill you and walk away.’

“That’s not what happened here… no one was harmed. He just wanted to assert, like, ‘Hey, don’t try to make a victim of me.’”

The Manitoba RCMP said it has received little direct public feedback about the incident.

A spokesperson said Canadians can take steps to protect themselves or their property, but any force used must be reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances.

“Generally speaking, property owners are strongly encouraged to prioritize their own safety and call police rather than confront intruders themselves,” RCMP said.

The homeowner is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Morden on Nov. 3.

A 29-year-old man from the RM of Hanover, a 47-year-old man from the RM of Emerson-Franklin, and a 41-year-old woman from the RM of Emerson-Franklin were charged with numerous theft, trespassing and mischief offenses. The younger man was also charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. The two men were remanded into custody. The woman was released on an undertaking.

The fourth suspect fled in the other vehicle, which was located the next morning in a field a few kilometres away. The RCMP spokesperson said the investigation into the fourth suspect is ongoing.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca