Grand Theft Auto: Winnipeg

[Only The Lonely..]

This past week has seen a lot of news coverage to the growing problem of auto theft in Winnipeg. I'm curious about what other cities are doing to prevent the problem, and looking for answers as to why this issue is so much worse in Winnipeg..

Here are some stories from this week..

Originally Posted by CBC Archives

Manitoba Public Insurance estimates that a car is stolen every hour, on average, in the province. As of 2005, Manitoba holds the dubious distinction of having the highest auto-theft rate in the country, according to Statistics Canada.

In Winnipeg, 1,712 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 population were reported last year, whereas in Toronto there were 306 thefts reported per 100,000 population.

Driver beaten after crashing stolen car: Victim critical, assault charge laid

Tue Jan 9 2007 By Jason Bell | Winnipeg Free Press

A known car thief is in hospital fighting for his life after he was beaten with a baseball bat by a driver he smashed into with a stolen car, a family member said Monday.
Stanley Ross, 22, is in critical condition in a medically induced coma at the Health Sciences Centre.

Police say a security guard who was driving a mobile patrol vehicle was arrested following the incident early Saturday morning and charged with aggravated assault.

Samir Salihovic, 19, was charged after he allegedly beat Ross over the head with a bat after the two were involved in a crash in Elmwood.

Sources say the man worked for S.K. Security Services, a relatively new, licensed security firm in Winnipeg.

Arrested for assault
The security guard's 40-year-old supervisor, who came to the collision scene after the altercation, has also been arrested for assault, a police spokesman said.

Telephone messages left with the company were unreturned Monday.

Ross was wearing handcuffs when police and paramedics arrived, said Sgt. Kelly Dennison of the Winnipeg Police Service.

Late Monday, Ross' older sister said her brother's life is "hanging in the balance" in the intensive-care unit at HSC.

Candy Ross, 24, said doctors have told the family there is no way to tell if her brother will survive the severe head injuries he suffered.

"The next week is critical," she said. "It's hard to see him like that. I've been at the hospital since it happened ...somebody has to be there for him.

"Some of my family can't even bear to see him like this."

Ross was allegedly driving a stolen vehicle when he got into a collision in the area of Plessis Road and Regent Avenue, said Sgt. Dennison. It's believed Ross left the scene of the crash and continued driving until he got involved in a second collision with a security guard mobile patrol vehicle near Midwinter Avenue and Stadacona Street.

An argument started and the suspect allegedly grabbed a baseball bat and hit the victim over the head and the upper body.

No saint

Candy Ross said her brother is no saint but did not deserve the beating he received.

"Why would someone go and do that? Did they think they were serving justice?" she said. "I know my brother has done some bad things like stealing cars, but that's no reason to put him on life support."

Ross received a 30-month sentence in 2003 after pleading guilty to several charges, including four counts of vehicle theft.

Salihovic was detained at the Winnipeg Remand Centre. He was also charged with breaching a court order.

"The victim is unable to speak, obviously, he is in critical condition. I do believe there is a number of witnesses that witnessed this entire incident unfold," said Dennison.

"I don't know what (the suspects') intent or intentions were." Provincial justice officials said they are reviewing the incident to ensure the security company's licensing requirements have been followed.

They would not comment on the incident.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

[Only The Lonely..]

Bat-beating fans shocking: Alleged attacker draws huge support
By PAUL TURENNE | Winnipeg Sun

The blood lust in some people amazes me.

Since the Sun reported Monday that Winnipegger Stanley Ross was beaten nearly to death with a baseball bat, allegedly by Samir Salihovic, a man he'd just gotten into a car accident with, the newspaper has been inundated with letters of support for the beating.

That's right. Letters of support.

The main thrust of the argument in these e-mails -- sent by people who may be upset their van was stolen from the mall or don't like people who look like Ross -- is that the victim, a convicted car thief and known gang member, deserved the beating and simply got what was coming to him.

Salihovic is in custody on a charge of aggravated assault following a road rage incident Saturday night. His supervisor is charged with common assault for allegedly also beating Ross.


One misguided reader, Shaun, said there is "absolutely nothing wrong" with what Salihovic is accused of doing and even offered to take him out for lunch, calling him a "local hero."

"Hopefully, the convicted serial car-thief is left brain-damaged and too mentally incapacitated to steal more cars," argues Shaun.

Another reader, "Dr. Unimpressed" said, "It is sad that Samir Salihovic is now seen as the bad guy."

A reader named Dave writes: "Yes, I understand he was brutally beaten and that is unacceptable, but are we honestly supposed to feel sorry for this idiot?"

Yes, Dave, you are.

Stanley Ross may be a thug and a car thief and a gangster but he is still a person with a family. He's an uncle, we're told.

Coma undeserved

I'm an uncle, too, and I'm sure my niece would take no joy in seeing me lying in the hospital in a coma with a bruised and swollen head, like you seem to.

Maybe Ross deserves to go to jail. Cops said yesterday he might be charged with car theft, but he doesn't deserve to be in a coma. Even if you don't feel sorry for Ross, at least don't condone the actions of his alleged attacker.

Believe me, I can appreciate the desire to be a vigilante and as a crime reporter I deal with scumbags far worse than car thieves all the time, but there are very, very, very few of them that I would ever wish to be brutalized in such a fashion.

Unless Ross raped Salihovic's daughter or murdered his mother, there is absolutely no excuse for taking things to that level.

It's selfish, self-righteous and ignorant to think otherwise.

And frankly, it scares me so that so many people in this town see it that way.

Do you agree with some Sun readers that convicted car thief Stanley Ross got what he deserved?

Yes 65%
No 35%

Total votes for question: 2224

[Only The Lonely..]

Winnipeg's black eye: It's an epidemic that demands gov't action

By TOM BRODBECK | Winnipeg Sun

Car thieves are giving this city a black eye as hundreds of vehicles a month get swiped from shopping centre parking lots, city parkades and sometimes right from the driveways of our own homes.

Vehicles are stolen mainly for the adolescent rush of bolting around the city in a stolen vehicle. But on top of the cost, victimization and nuisance it causes, auto theft is putting public safety and lives at risk.

Vehicles of all models and makes are getting ripped off -- from all parts of the city and from people of all walks of life. It appears no one is immune.

It's an epidemic and it demands far greater attention from governments and the courts as the problem continues to spiral out of control.

So I bring to you a new monthly column called Grand Theft Auto, designed to keep this wretched crime in the spotlight to force elected officials, Crown attorneys and judges to start taking this problem seriously.


The monthly instalment will highlight -- using updated police data -- some of the worst rashes of car thefts around the city, where they happened and what types of vehicles were stolen.

We'll start with last weekend, which saw one of the highest number of car thefts in recent months.

Just in case anyone thinks this problem is on the mend, there was a total of 135 motor vehicle thefts and attempted thefts last Friday and Saturday in Winnipeg, according to police records.

Stunning

That's equivalent to 68 a day, more than twice the daily average of car thefts in Winnipeg. It's stunning.

The North End -- police District 3 -- had the greatest number of auto thefts during the two-day period with 47 thefts and attempted thefts.

District 6 -- south of the Assiniboine River and west of the Red River -- had the second-highest number of auto thefts and attempted thefts at 28.

Garden City Shopping Centre stood out as a prime target for auto thieves last weekend. There were four attempted thefts and two stolen vehicles during the two-day period, including a black, 2004 Chevrolet Silverado that was swiped from the mall parking lot.

There were four attempted auto thefts Friday on Mayfair Place near the Midtown Bridge.

And there were two stolen vehicles from the retail area of Kenaston and McGillivray boulevards.

The West End was a hotbed of auto theft on the weekend.

There were three attempted thefts in the area of 1800 Wellington Avenue. And there was an attempted theft and a stolen vehicle -- a black, 2002 Chevrolet Tracker -- on nearby Ashburn Street.

Chevrolets were the vehicle of choice for thieves last weekend.

Chevrolet Avalanches, Cavaliers, Blazers, Silverados, Suburbans and Malibus were favourites all over the city.

Owners of Chevrolet Trailblazers were the victims of 10 thefts and attempted thefts.

Dodge Caravans continued to be one of the top choices for thieves, too, accounting for nine thefts and attempted thefts.

One dummy tried in vain to steal an orange, 2003 Hummer from a quiet Island Lakes street Saturday.

Another thief was so desperate for a vehicle, the punk stole a 1982 Dodge Aries -- yes, that's a 1982 -- from the 150 Sherbrook Street area. Nice going.

Police sources tell me there were 10, high-risk, chronic car thieves wanted by authorities on the weekend. Any connection? You be the judge.

Tune in next month.

[Only The Lonely..]

Teenagers in stolen car ram vehicle, apartment:
Two taken to hospital after crash near HSC

Fri Jan 12 2007 By Carol Sanders | Winnipeg Free Press

TEENAGE boys in a stolen SUV collided with a cab and then ran a red light Thursday night, slamming into a small station wagon and an apartment block in front of the Health Sciences Centre.
Two people, including a woman driving the station wagon, were taken to the nearby emergency room on stretchers. She was listed in stable condition last night. The condition of a boy in the stolen truck was not known.

He was conscious, though, said Richard Kehler, caretaker of the apartment building that's been hit by vehicles at least five times in the 10 years he's lived there. Kehler saw the driver flee and figured the vehicle was stolen. He had little sympathy for the passenger.

"He was wedged in between the front and back seat," Kehler said. "I went up to him and said, 'Sucks to be you right now.' "

Witnesses to the accident who were sitting in the Health Sciences Centre cafeteria on the second floor had a bird's-eye view of the melee at the corner of Sherbrook Street and McDermot Avenue.

They said four boys about 15 years old were in a black Avalanche speeding north on Sherbrook Street when it collided with the small silver station wagon, spinning it around. The stolen black truck then rammed into the apartment building and stopped.
"It was on fire for a bit," said a 30-year-old man who didn't want to give his name. "Three kids got out and headed down the back alley... One kid was limping and another kid was still in the Avalanche." Police were on the scene within seconds, the witnesses said.

Police had been pursuing the stolen vehicle after receiving a report of a hit-and-run but gave up the chase at Notre Dame Avenue. The vehicle kept going and rammed into the silver station wagon.

"She got smoked pretty good on one side," said Kehler.

After Thursday night's incident, he went outside to see the smashed-up vehicles, police cars and a scene of frosty mayhem.

Kehler said he saw a cab driver and a police officer running after one of the boys from the stolen Avalanche. Apparently, the cab had been rear-ended by the stolen SUV earlier in the evening.

"Crime in this city is out of control," said Kehler, who worried about the condition of the woman in the station wagon who was minding her own business and obeying the law when her vehicle was destroyed with her in it.

"These punks can do what they want," said Kehler, who fears their punishment will not fit the crime.

"These guys will be out in two days after all the damage they've done. There should be stiffer sentences." Kehler said he sympathizes with the police and the car thieves' victims. "People are getting very frustrated."

Racing through slick city streets on the coldest night of the year, the so-called joy riders aren't considering how deadly their actions might be to themselves or innocent passersby or bystanders, a police spokesman said.

"The danger of the whole epidemic of auto theft is the young people aren't taking that into account," said Insp. Steve Pilote.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

[SHOFEAR]

A buddy beat the shit out of an attempted car theif with a titanium lacrosse stick a couple years ago and held him down until the cops arrived. I'd do the same thing.

[Only The Lonely..]

Letters to the Editor | Winnipeg Sun Jan. 11 2006 | (Sun Editors Comments in brackets)



Why so sympathetic?

Paul Turenne's column (Bat-beating fans shocking, Jan. 10) is as astonishing as the response to the beating received by Stanley Ross. Car theft is out of control in Winnipeg and the police seem powerless to do anything about it, a fact that seems to have escaped Turenne's scrutiny. Why on earth is Turenne so pathetically sympathetic to this criminal? He obviously hasn't yet been violated by this crime.

My Avalanche was broken into and damaged at Polo Park in December 2005. It was extremely frustrating and nearly a month before I got it back, so we drove an MPIC rental for the entire holidays -- NOT enjoyable. The rising crime rate was one of the prime reasons we left Winnipeg and now happily live in a small, virtually crime-free town. If I had remained in Winnipeg and witnessed Ross's beating, I might have asked for my own turn at bat, as no doubt would hundreds of other recent victims of car theft.

It's not blood lust, it's street justice.

J. Kerr


Parrsboro, N.S.

(No, it's thuggery.)


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Lynch-mob mentality

Thanks to Paul Turenne for his piece condemning the blood-lust responses provoked by an alleged car thief being nearly beaten to death with a baseball bat. The lynch-mob mentality unleashed by this incident is truly terrifying, and the participants ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Chris Johnson

Winnipeg


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Who's next up to bat?

While I am all for seeing a criminal and proven gangster get what he deserves, this is not the way to do it. It is not up to the Samir Salihovics of the world to dispense their own justice in a fit of emotional fury. If it were, I would never leave my home in fear that I may infringe on someone else's perception of justice and be met with a baseball bat for it.

Yness Boily

Winnipeg


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Feel for real victims

When people lead a life of crime and violence and are injured while living this lifestyle, society is not obligated to feel any sort of sympathy for the criminal.

Where is the sympathy and outrage for the victims of this criminal's actions?

Just because people are not all BLEEDING HEART LIBERALS, does not mean everyone is bloodthirsty!

Henry Wysmulek

Winnipeg


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No one deserves that

Are these people for real? This guy was beaten with a bat in the head, and at the time of the attack, his attacker did not know who he was or that the vehicle was stolen! I have two children who have heard about this attack and told them that no one deserves to be hurt like that.

It is very scary to know that there are that many people in Winnipeg who feel that this kind of behaviour is OK.

Hildi Allison

Winnipeg


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Asking too much

Sun crime reporter Paul Turenne is surprised at the lack of sympathy for the chronic car thief and gang member who was beaten into a coma. He shouldn't be. The public have had it with career criminals who receive little or no punishment for their crimes and are turned loose over and over again to continue victimizing innocent people. Expecting compassion and understanding for thugs who show no regard or concern for others is asking too much.

David Taylor-Young

Winnipeg


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Drop the 'friendly,' folks

I am very surprised at the number of people who think that Stanley Ross deserved what happened to him. I lived in Winnipeg for 13 years and the reason I left was because of the people. The people in Winnipeg really need to get their licence plates changed because they aren't friendly at all.

I really hope that justice is brought down on the attacker, and he spends some time behind bars, and all the people who thought that it was the right thing to do need to shake their heads.

Raymond McKenzie

Belleville, Ont.

(Many are; but not that way.)

[h0twired]

My friend's dad beat the crap out of a punk breaking into his car near Grapes on Main. He beat up the punk and sat on him until the police arrived. When the cops showed up, he was free to go and the police only took a statement and he never heard from them again.

[rgalston]

This thread should be called "Who wants to be quoted in the next Black Rod post? Comment here:"

[Kevin_foster]

In Edmonton they are putting up dummy cars.

Although, laws state that they have to put signs up in the area (i.e. notice - there are dummy cars in this area).

Kinda silly... but apparently it works to catch criminals...

[ReginaGuy]

Originally Posted by Kevin_foster

In Edmonton they are putting up dummy cars.

Although, laws state that they have to put signs up in the area (i.e. notice - there are dummy cars in this area).

Kinda silly... but apparently it works to catch criminals...

Well thats just plain retarded. What in god's name is the point then? The whole idea is to trick the theif into thinking its a normal car. Whoever is responsible for that law is an idiot

and I hope the car theif lives, but I hope he's crippled for life. He deserved what he got, and it'll be pretty hard for him to steal any more cars if he has a broken back

[Biff]

They are both criminals - the attacker (convicted of cocaine possession a couple of years ago) and the "victim" (known drug dealer and car thief) - fuck them both!

[freeweed]

Back when I worked with MPIC, there used to be a pretty decent correlation between auto theft rates and government vs. private insurers. I'll leave it up to the rest of you folks as to *why* this might be as the studies were done to death and I can't recall anything conclusive.

Anyone have any recent stats? A high car theft rate in Winnipeg is FAR from a new thing. I'd be curious to see how the peg stacks up to Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver, etc...

I also recall that the stat used to be around 90% of these thefts were just joyriders. No financial motive, just stupid bored kids out looking for a thrill. Gang initiations used to be involved, too. Anyone know if this is still the case?

[ReginaGuy]

I'm not sure how the cities compare, but Regina is getting better. The rate of auto thefts in Regina has gone down by 44% in 4 years

This is partly thanks to the new "Regina Auto Theft Strategy", which enforces strict controls on repeat offenders, such as curfews, and also gets them involved in education, employment, etc

In a city the size of Regina, almost all of the car thefts are done by a relatively small group of people, so that's what makes it so effective.. I don't know if that strategy would work in larger cities like Winnipeg or Vancouver

[mersar]

Calgary I believe was around 6,000 or so for 2005 (I had my car stolen *twice* in 2006, so I asked the constable from CPS about how big a problem it is), although they are claiming a 90% retrieval rate. How many of the thefts in Winnipeg are just kids stealing for kicks versus profit based thefts? The vast majority in Calgary are the for kicks, to the extent the kid who stole my car the second time around, who was THIRTEEN, was arrested the day he stole mine after stringing up a list of about a dozen cars that day alone. And that was the third time he'd been arrested for car theft last year (they finally decided after the 3rd time to not let him out of the Young Offenders Centre until he went to trial).

[drew]

Originally Posted by mersar

How many of the thefts in Winnipeg are just kids stealing for kicks versus profit based thefts?

It's probably almost 100% for joyriding purposes (they take what's easy - i.e GMs and Chryslers). Apparently it is a smallish group in Winnipeg responsible for most of the thefts (like Regina).

If this guy in the article who was beaten was a real "player" in Winnipeg car thefts, if may be interesting to find out if the amount of thefts have gone down since he was removed from service.

[SHOFEAR]

Edmonton's stolen cars are typically cars that are a dime a dozen like Civics and large trucks. I'd imagine it's more off a for-profit type motive because these cars blend right in and can be parted out with out to many questions.

[Only The Lonely..]

Teens arrested after stolen SUV crashes
JAN 12 2007 11:30 AM

Four teenagers ranging in ages from 14 to 16 have been charged after a stolen SUV ran a sequence of red lights along Portage Avenue Thursday evening. It also hit a taxi, a couple of other vehicles, a light standard, a bus shack, and two buildings.

The SUV was first spotted by police around 6:15. It all ended a short time later when the vehicle crashed in the 800 block of Sherbrook.

One 53-year old woman involved in one of the collisions was hurt and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Police say the driver of the SUV tried to take off, but was apprehended. One of the teenagers was extricated from the stolen vehicle and taken to hospital.

The group faces a long list of charges. The police are looking for a fifth person who was involved.

CJOB's Lorne Edwards reporting.

[Only The Lonely..]

Four teenagers ranging in ages from 14 to 16 have been charged after a stolen SUV ran a sequence of red lights along Portage Avenue Thursday evening. It also hit a taxi, a couple of other vehicles, a light standard, a bus shack, and two buildings.

Now i'd like to see someone try this with a Smart Car.

[1ajs]

edit: duble post doh!

[1ajs]

only once has some one tried to steel one of are cars... lets just say they could not get it to move and it was left runing... my mother caught the guy and proceeded to diss him for not knowing how to drive a stick then after bitching at him she kicked him in the ass and sent him on his way

... the car is tank...... aka a full manual 72 volvo 145s wish i had the skill/space to do the rust on it inless someone knows or has a farly rust free 145