Bear spray discharged; 12-year-old struck by vehicle; female assaulted; beware of ‘grandchild’ scam

Bear spray incident at Keystone

A 17-year-old boy is facing weapons charges after he allegedly discharged a canister full of bear spray inside the Keystone Centre on Friday night.

Brandon police were called to the Keystone Centre around 6:45 p.m. after hearing reports of a disturbance at the facility’s Manitoba Room during Dakota Nation Winterfest festivities.

Once they arrived, officers managed to apprehend the 17-year-old and discovered that he was in possession of a bear spray can as well as a concealed knife.

The youth, who has an extensive history with police, was held in custody overnight to appear in court at a later date.

He is being charged with two counts of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, administering a noxious substance, carrying a concealed weapon, two counts of breaching a release order and four counts of breaching probation.

Brandon police also arrested a second 17-year-old male at the Keystone Centre Friday evening, believing that he is “somewhat involved” in this bear spray incident.

The second youth was highly intoxicated at the time of his arrest, with police uncovering a bottle of liquor concealed in his pants.

After being held in Brandon Police Service custody for several hours, the suspect was released to appear in court at a later date. He is being charged with two counts of violating Manitoba’s Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act.

While several innocent bystanders were left reeling from the effects of the bear spray on Friday night, BPS is not aware of any serious injuries from this incident.

 

Pedestrian struck in crosswalk

A 12-year-old boy was sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Friday afternoon after he was struck by a motor vehicle at the intersection of 18th Street and College Avenue.

Police officers responded to reports of this collision around noon, eventually discovering the youth was using a crosswalk at the intersection when he was hit by a southbound Jeep Compass.

Further investigation revealed that another vehicle had stopped for the youth to cross, but the driver of the Jeep was in the other travel lane and did not take notice of the stopped vehicle or the pedestrian.

Police later located and arrested a 36-year-old woman driver following this incident. She is being charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian.

 

Man facing assault charge

Brandon police arrested a 19-year-old man from Long Plain First Nation on Friday afternoon after they were called to a residence located on Fifth Street.

Once they arrived on the scene, around 2:30 p.m., a female inhabitant said that she had been assaulted by her boyfriend, who had fled the scene prior to police arrival.

Police managed to locate the 19-year-old suspect a short distance away from the residence and arrested him for assault.

He was held at Brandon Police Service headquarters overnight and was released over the weekend on an undertaking.

He is scheduled to appear in court on March 14.

 

Police warn about ‘grandchild’ scam

Brandon police received multiple reports on Friday from residents who received calls from an unknown male suspect posing as a “grandchild in distress.”

In both cases, this “grandchild” coerced these residents that they needed to help to pay for bail, eventually convincing them to hand over thousands of dollars in cash.

In a Saturday morning news release, the Brandon Police Service reminded the public to never hand over bail money unless they are directly dealing with the court.

“No one will ever take your cash from you for bail here or anywhere else other than at the provincial courthouse,” the release read.

» The Brandon Sun