Riding bike on sidewalk leads to fraud, drug charges

A Steinbachman faces a long list of charges after being stopped by police for riding a bike on the sidewalk.

Officers were patrolling in the area of St. Anne's Road and Bishop Grandin Boulevard around 4:30 a.m. on Friday when they spotted a "suspicious" man and woman on bicycles.

At first, the man allegedly gave the officers a fake name, but after further investigation, police identified him and found out he had a warrant for his arrest.

Police found stolen identity documents and payment cards, as well as a small amount of methamphetamine and a stolen bicycle.

The investigation also led officers to the 700 block of St. Mary's Avenue where they found a stolen truck, which had been taken from the 500 block of St. Mary's Road on July 13. The vehicle had an out-of-province licence plate that had been stolen from a vehicle on Alpine Avenue.

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The 29-year-old man faces multiple charges, including identity fraud with intent to avoid arrest, possession of break-in instruments, possession ofmethamphetamine, possession of stolen property over $5,000, four counts of possessing stolen property under $5,000, four counts of possessing identity documents, two counts of failing to comply with probation, and riding a bicycle on a sidewalk.

Takes a lot of 'good, old-fashioned police work'

Although the encounter started with atraffic stop, Const. Jay Murray said these investigations often lead to bigger charges.

"This was a combination of our Smart Policing initiative and some good, old-fashioned police work to place this individual under arrest," he said.

Murray also said the incident highlights the problem police in Winnipeg face withmethamphetamine.

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"As you can see, he was arrested with a small quantity of this, and we believe that this crime spree was the result of methamphetamine," he said.

"We often come across these individuals and they often have a large quantity of stolen property, which takes significant time and resources to investigate."

The woman currently does not face any charges, but Murray said the investigation is still ongoing.