Woman accused in mailbox thefts denied bail

A judge denied bail for a Boissevain woman allegedly involved in a spree of mailbox thefts on the grounds that releasing her could taint the public’s confidence in the justice system.

“This was an extensive spree … of theft and fraud spanning across a wide swath of Manitoba,” Brandon provincial court Judge Patrick Sullivan said Friday.

The crimes “impacted multiple communities and likely dozens of victims — if not more,” he said.

Jennifer MacDonald, 41, is one of two people facing 41 charges related to the string of mailbox thefts last winter. They include breaking and entering, theft from mail over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime, fraud over $5,000 and theft of a credit card.

Crown attorney Reid Girard read the details of the allegations, which covered a period from November 2024 to the early months of 2025. None of the allegations has been proven in court.

RCMP received reports that Canada Post mailboxes had been broken into or damaged in the communities of Kelwood, Neepawa, MacGregor, Carberry, Austin, Glenella, Rapid City, Minnedosa, Erickson, Arden, Onanole and Rivers.

Some locations were targeted several times, and the number of affected boxes in each community ranged from a few to 40.

On Nov. 27, a woman reported that some of her rent cheques hadn’t reached their destination.

When she told her bank about it, they investigated and found that two of the rent cheques had been stolen and deposited into three different bank accounts. Police found the owners of the bank accounts, Girard said.

“So, the investigation into that was kind of the first clue,” he said.

On Jan. 31, a woman reported fraudulent activity on her banking card and said $7,000 was missing.

She told police that she believed the activity happened between Jan. 18 and 23 and became aware of it after she saw her bank account had a negative balance. The bank told her that a woman made several deposits into her account and then made withdrawals.

Based on the description, the woman identified a possible suspect.

Neepawa RCMP called MacDonald the next day and told her to come to the detachment. She was arrested for multiple charges, including banking fraud and possession of property obtained by crime.

Police took a statement from MacDonald, and two days later, she came back to the detachment to provide another statement. Girard said she wanted to talk about her co-accused’s activities and brought items to the detachment.

In a followup statement on Aug. 12, MacDonald shared more details about her relationship with the co-accused, Girard said.

She was released with a scheduled court appearance on Oct. 21, but after further investigation, additional charges were laid and she was arrested and remanded into custody on Wednesday.

Girard was opposed to her release on the grounds that she would become reinvolved with the criminal justice system and that her release would cause the public to lose confidence in the administration of justice.

“You heard about how much mail was stolen, community after community after community, victimizing dozens of individuals depositing fraudulent cheques,” he said. “She’s slid into a pattern of criminal behaviour, and I’m very concerned it’s going to continue.”

Defence lawyer Anthony Dawson disagreed that a reasonable member of the public would lose confidence in the administration of justice, stating that an accused person has the right to reasonable bail on the least restrictive conditions necessary.

Dawson proposed a bail plan that included a $2,000 promise to pay if she is caught reoffending, no contact with any of the complainants or co-accused, and a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Sullivan reminded the court that MacDonald is presumed innocent at this stage.

While he wasn’t particularly worried about the risk of reoffending, he denied her bail on the grounds that the public may feel their confidence in the administration of justice has been undermined.

MacDonald also faces charges of uttering threats and failing to comply with undertakings.

Ryan Eckberg, 38, is charged with 41 offences related to the mailbox thefts and was denied bail last week.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com