A arrest warrant was issued for a suspect after the investigation into a report of a flatbed trailer stolen from a business on Cargill Road was made on February 27th. According to the Winkler Police Service (WPS) report, a different trailer had been stolen from this business several days earlier.
On March 3rd, WPS received a report of a sexual assault from a female. The accused male is known to the victim, who she claimed had done this before. Officers located the suspect and arrested him, charging him with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of causing bodily harm and was later released on an Undertaking with a court date at Morden Provincial Court.
On March 7th, WPS conducted a traffic stop when a vehicle was observed going through an intersection without stopping at the stop sign. A strong odour of liquor was coming from inside the vehicle and the driver was displaying signs of impairment. Two breath samples showed readings of 90mg%. The seventeen-year-old driver was arrested for Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle and also charged with Driving Over 0.08, Disobeying a Traffic Control Device (the stop sign), Driving Without Holding a Valid Driver's License and Carrying Liquor in a Vehicle. His vehicle was seized for 30 days, he received a 3-month Driver's License Suspension and was released once he was sober with an Undertaking and Provincial Appearance Notice to Appear in Court.
Several more people reported scams in Winkler in the last couple of weeks.
February 28, an elderly male reported an internet/phone company had installed a product in his home. Several days later, he was called by someone claiming to be from the company and asked for his credit card and social insurance information. He hung up but was called again and this time, provided the information. The male canceled his credit card and was advised by police to use a credit monitoring system.
March 5th someone contacted a female telling her she had won the lottery. She bought a gift card and gave the number on the back of it to the scammer. WPS informed her she was out the money and gave her advice on spotting a scam.
March 8th, a female fell victim to a text scam, she received from a number who said it was Canada Post. The message said her package couldn't be delivered due to a missing address. She clicked the link and shared her address and banking information. Later, she contacted her bank and a suspicious withdrawal had been made from her account. She was advised to use a credit monitoring system.
An ad looking for a private house cleaner was listed on a local website. On March 14, a female was told she would receive a cheque to cover her costs for cleaning supplies and she became suspicious. WPS advised her it was most likely a scam and not to cash the cheque if she received it, as she would be out the money. The job listing was no longer on the website at the time of the report.