Man accused of armed chase denied bail

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/08/2025 (239 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who allegedly chased a woman with a gun inside a hotel was denied bail in Brandon provincial court on Friday.

Vincent Mitchell, 27, is charged with possession of a weapon, assault with a weapon and possession of property obtained by crime.

Crown attorney Reid Girard opposed Mitchell’s application for bail, saying he had “no faith” the accused would follow any conditions the court placed him on.

“Beyond that … I think it’s clear that Mr. Mitchell is not going to stop the substantive criminal offending,” Girard said.

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, police received a report of a man with a gun chasing a woman at Clarion Hotel & Suites in Brandon.

When police got to the hotel, the woman gave a description to the police, which included that he was an Indigenous man wearing a red backpack, Girard said.

The woman was leaving the hotel to smoke when a man, who she said was ducking behind the garbage cans outside of the door, quickly pushed his way through with a bicycle “as if he was waiting for someone to open the door so he could get inside,” Girard said.

He said the woman told police the man stopped and stared at her before asking her if she wanted to party, while his hand was in his waistband.

The man allegedly had what she described as the “butt of a gun” sticking out of his pants.

“She nervously laughed because she felt in danger and feared for her life,” Girard said. “She quickly went toward her hotel room … She turned back and saw the male with a gun in his left hand, raised in the air, pointing towards the ceiling, while he was walking towards her.”

Girard said the woman went into her room, where she had three children, ranging from two months to eight years old.

“She told her children at this point to duck behind the bed because she feared that the male may try to kick in the door,” Girard said.

Police patrolled the area and found a man that matched the woman’s description to police. Police arrested the man and brought him into custody.

Girard said the woman took a video while the man was following her, which shows a glimpse of the face of a man who was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses.

He pointed out that Mitchell has distinct tattoos above his eyebrows, which cannot be seen in the video. Girard said, from the Crown’s view, the top part of the sunglasses covered the tattoos.

Additionally, the woman did not capture a video of the alleged gun, and since police did not indicate that they retrieved a firearm, Girard said it is safe to assume police did not find a firearm. He added that the lawyers are still waiting for some additional information.

Later that same day, around 1:30 p.m., a man reported that someone stole his bike during the night.

“The bike was described. It was a men’s mountain bike,” Girard said. “(Mitchell) had been riding a mountain bike that was matching the description (of) the one that had been reported stolen.”

Girard called Mitchell’s alleged behaviour “just the most recent addition to a seemingly endless pattern of behaviour” from him.

“I really see that, turning to his record. It begins in 2019 … and since then it’s been essentially unbroken,” Girard said.

Girard also noted that Mitchell was released from custody after he received a time-served sentence on July 24 for three convictions.

“Very shortly after he’s released from custody, he’s alleged to be engaging in more substantive criminal offending,” Girard said. “Simply put, Mr. Mitchell cannot be trusted.”

Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson said the accused denied he had a firearm and that he finds it “interesting” that police didn’t retrieve one.

He said there will also be triable issues in proving that the man in the video is Mitchell. While the Crown mentioned the tattoos above his eyebrows, Mitchell also has a tattoo on his cheek, which isn’t visible in the video, Dawson said.

“The video, frankly, it barely shows anything. It’s just the angles. The actual shots that are taken are basically showing nothing, other than the one glimpse of the person in the video,” he said.

Dawson briefly touched on Mitchell’s past, which included Gladue factors. Dawson said Mitchell grew up primarily in the foster system and faced abuse as a child. He said his grandparents were survivors of the residential school system.

Since Mitchell is homeless and has no source of income, Dawson asked the court to release him without an address or cash deposit. He listed conditions Mitchell could follow, which included not contacting the complainants, not going to the hotel and not possessing any firearms.

Judge John Combs denied Mitchell’s bail, saying he was not satisfied Mitchell wouldn’t reoffend and had no confidence he could follow conditions because of his history of failing to comply with court orders.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com