In late November, Assiniboine Community College announced the opening of its new retail space as part of the Food Processing Centre for Animal Proteins on campus. The college invited the public to help name the new storefront. Assiniboine has selected a name for its new meat retail shop on campus. The winning entry, The Protein Pantry, comes from Wanda Cameron of Boissevain. In addition to bragging rights, the winning entry came with a $150 gift certificate to the shop, which Wanda plans to donate to the Boissevain Food Pantry. Assiniboine received close to 400 entries to the contest. In the New Year, signage for The Protein Pantry will be designed and installed. The space is part of the $1.6 million Food Processing Centre, which opened in November. The project was generously supported with a combined $1.165 million from the Government of Canada, Province of Manitoba, Maple Leaf Foods, HyLife Foods, Manitoba Pork, UFCW Local 832, the Brandon Hog and Livestock Show. The storefront is located at the college’s Victoria Avenue East Campus in room 261. Planned continued hours of operation in the New Year are as follows: Monday and Tuesday:            noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday:     noon to 5 p.m. Friday:                                     11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (ACC News)

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release On December 18, 2019 shortly after 4:00 pm, police received a report that a vehicle had just been stolen from the 2200 block of Van Horne Ave. The owner witnessed the vehicle driving northbound away from the scene. Police located the vehicle parked, and unoccupied in front of a residence in the 000 block of 22 street N, and set up a perimeter to locate the suspects in the area. The suspect attempted to flee the area on foot; however, he was apprehended and arrested several blocks away. Upon his arrest, the suspect dropped a machete. Police learned that the suspect was to abide by court ordered conditions not to possess any weapons. The 16-year-old male youth was lodged at Brandon Correctional Centre and will appear this morning in court on charges of Theft of Motor Vehicle, Resist Arrest, Possess Weapon Dangerous, and Fail to comply with Conditions of Recognizance. He was also the subject of an arrest warrant, and will face previous charges of Unauthorized Possession of Firearm, Carry Firearm in Careless Manner, Fail to Attend Court, and Fail to Comply with Conditions of Recognizance.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media release On November 29, 2019, we released a report regarding two sexual assaults in which a massage therapist was responsible, and arrested. One assault occurring in the fall of 2018 and a second assault occurring on October 30, 2019. In both cases, the two victims report that while receiving a massage the therapist made inappropriate sexual comments, while touching them in a sexual manner. Since that report, six other adult females have come forward to report similar occurrences between February and August 2019. The victims came forward with their reports independently of one another. On December 17, 2019, the 54-year-old male suspect was arrested for the additional six offences. He will appear in court on January 20, 2020 for all eight of the Sexual Assault counts, which includes the original two. The male was working as an independent contractor at a business during these assaults. Since his initial arrest, he has taken a leave of absence, and is no longer seeing clients out of the business where the assaults took place.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release Between November 24, 2019 and December 14, 2019, a suspect entered different Brandon MLCC locations on five separate occasions and stole liquor. In each instance, the suspect acted on his own. Video surveillance from each of the thefts confirmed that the same individual committed these acts. On December 16, 2019, shortly after 7:00 am, police received a report of a male who was passed out in a public washroom in the 1100 block of 18th street. Police located the 34-year-old male and confirmed that he was the suspect from the five separate thefts. The male suspect was also to abide by conditions not to enter any MLCC. He was arrested and lodged Brandon Correctional Center. He appeared in court later that day on the separate Theft Under $5000 charges, as well as Fail to Comply with Conditions of Probation.  

Source:Brandon Police Service Media Release On December 15, 2019 shortly after 10:00 am, police responded to a report of an individual who was sitting in the snow wearing pajamas in the 800 block of 10th street. Witnesses report the individual appeared to have blood on them. Police located the individual who indicated that an unknown male entered their residence while making demands for drugs. The suspect then stabbed the victim before the victim was able to flee the home. The victim was transported by ambulance to BRHC to be seen for injuries, where they were treated and released. Police searched the residence for the suspect male; however, he had left. He was located a short distance away from the home, and arrested. He was found to be in possession of several weapons, including a homemade mace consisting of a metal object tied to the end of a scarf, a kitchen knife, and a multi-tool device, which included a blade. The 47-year-old suspect, who was intoxicated upon his arrest, was lodged at Brandon Correctional Center and will appear today on court on charges of Possession of Weapon for a Dangerous Purpose X 3, Break and Enter and Commit Offence, Assault with a Weapon, Fail to Comply with Condition of Undertaking.