Tire-slashing spree hits south end

Dozens of residents in Brandon’s south end woke up to slashed tires after a vandalism spree early Wednesday morning.

Parked vehicles in at least three apartment complexes in the area were hit, as well as vehicles on several adjacent streets.

Brandon Police Service had received more than 75 reports in relation to the incident as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and more were coming in.

“It just makes a bad start to the day, obviously,” Jasmine Penner said while standing outside her apartment at The Groves on Tracey Street.

“It made me late to class (and) made me miss one of my quizzes,” she said. “It’s just going to be a pain.”

Penner said she didn’t notice anything wrong with her vehicle until she was driving to university and felt it was drifting to one side and she started smelling burning rubber.

“So, I get to school, and I look at my tire, and it’s completely off the rim,” she said.

Shortly after, Penner’s roommate texted her and said a bunch of people had their tires slashed.

“It’s just kind of jarring to realize that you’re not really safe in even your parking lot,” Penner said.

Brandon police Staff Sgt. Russ Paterson said there were also some reports of unlocked vehicles that had been rummaged through, and at least one laptop was stolen out of a vehicle.

“It’s frustrating for all those involved,” he said. “It makes you angry because, I mean, what do you do? How do you stop it?”

Police haven’t identified a suspect yet, but they do have footage from surveillance and doorbell cameras that may lead to identifying the suspect or suspects.

Paterson said he’s “very optimistic.”

Moyo Adigun, who also lives in The Groves, said he noticed his vehicle had a flat tire in the morning, which he thought was surprising since he didn’t see a warning light on his dashboard the day before.

When he checked his tire, he saw it had been punctured.

“Looking around, I noticed it wasn’t my car alone,” he said.

“It’s very crazy.”

He had to call his children’s school to let them know they would be late, and his wife had to take a taxi home from work, he said.

“I just hope it will not happen tonight because I don’t have any spare tire to use again,” he said.

Brianne Roblin said she and her husband, Jason, who is the CEO of Vionell Holdings Partnership (VHP), each had a tire slashed on their vehicles.

Brianne said her husband had been getting calls all morning since several vehicles parked outside of apartments that VHP manages, including at Arbutus Place, Fernwood Estates and The Groves, had been affected.

Some vehicles parked on Pine Ridge Crescent, Hawthorn Crescent, Tracey Street, Sycamore Drive and Magnolia Drive also had slashed tires, she said.

“It just makes me think, what is being done on a government level to make sure that repetitive crime or petty crime, that there is actually some type of … consequences,” Brianne said.

“When are we going to start holding people responsible for these types of actions?”

As the owner of the Plato’s Closet and Once Upon A Child Brandon locations, she sees break and enters, vandalism and theft “too often.”

However, she said she hasn’t seen anything of this magnitude before.

“I can’t stress enough, make sure you do make the report and that everything is accurate so that we can stand up as a community together to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Penner had already reported the incident to police but said she would be spending the rest of her day getting an estimate from Manitoba Public Insurance, taking her car to the shop and making appointments.

While she felt “just a little” upset and angry, there’s a sense of camaraderie since it happened to so many in the area, she said.

Jason Roblin urged everyone affected by the tire-slashing spree to file an insurance claim.

A Manitoba Public Insurance spokesperson told the Sun in an email that it was too soon to share the numbers of claims they have received in relation to this incident, but MPI will generally provide coverage for tires when the damage results from a fire, theft, vandalism or collision.

Slashed tires are considered a vandalism claim, and customers could be required to pay their deductible depending on several factors, she said.

“All MPI claims are investigated based on their unique circumstances and associated factors,” the spokesperson said.

Anyone whose tires were slashed can open a claim with MPI by calling its contact centre at 204-985-7000 or toll-free at 1-800-665-2410.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com