ManitobaA City of Winnipeg employee working with homeless encampment residents raised concerns about an alleged bicycle chop shop near Fort Douglas Park, prompting police to carry out a warrant in late August, according to a court document that authorized the search. Bikes, parts seized during police search of Point Douglas encampmentCBC News · Posted: Oct 17, 2025 4:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoOn Aug. 27, police seized five complete bicycles and dozens of parts at a temporary structure in Point Douglas, along the banks of the Red River near the North Winnipeg Parkway Trail. (Josh Crabb/CBC)A City of Winnipeg employee working with homeless encampment residents raised concerns about an alleged bicycle chop shop near Fort Douglas Park, prompting police to carry out a warrant in late August, according to a court document that authorized the search.On Aug. 27, police seized five complete bikes and dozens of parts — including 50 frames, 77 tires and 53 tire rims — at a temporary structure in Point Douglas off of Gomez Street, along the banks of the Red River near the North Winnipeg Parkway Trail. Two men have been charged with possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000. In an “information to obtain” document filed on Aug. 20 at Manitoba provincial court, Const. Alexander Laser of the Winnipeg Police Service wrote that a city employee who regularly works with individuals living in encampments called police after noticing a suspicious structure during a walk-through on Aug. 11. Jarred Baker, the city’s senior adviser on homelessness, told police it didn’t look like anyone was living in the tarp-enclosed structure, as it “did not appear to have a roof,” the document said. According to the submission, Baker saw between 40 and 60 bike frames and other parts inside the structure, which was open on one side. He told police he saw several “high-end” bicycles that appeared to be intact. The document said Baker was “concerned that this stash of bicycles, components and parts did not lawfully belong to anyone living on the riverbank.” Baker called police on Aug. 15, the document says, and Laser wrote that he and his partner went to the encampment that afternoon. The document says Baker “was not trying to trigger any actions” when providing his statement to police, stressing he wanted others to know what he saw and “police can take this information and do what they deem necessary.”Police find worker after ‘shift change’When police arrived, Laser said, they saw a bike frame hanging from a tree and an “unusually large structure” that appeared to have bicycles and bike parts inside. Laser said police approached an open section of the tarped structure and called out to see whether anyone was inside. A woman’s voice answered, he wrote. The woman told police that it was her turn to “work,” and there had been a “shift change,” according to the document. Police said she was “well-dressed,” with clean hair and fresh makeup, and “did not appear to be transient or suffer from a lack of resources.”Laser wrote that the woman went back into the structure after she grew upset with their questions. “I believe that the tarped structure located on the bank of the Red River near the dead end of Gomez St is being used to store bicycles, bicycle parts and components that have been stolen,” Laser wrote in the document, adding he saw bikes painted all one colour — a common tactic to to “avoid detection by the bike’s lawful owner and law enforcement.”He suggested that the community support unit, of which he is a member, could execute this warrant during the day with help from the tactical support unit.The document was signed by provincial court Associate Chief Judge Anne Krahn, and the warrant was carried out on the afternoon of Aug. 27.
Sharp-eyed city worker leads Winnipeg police to alleged bike chop shop: warrant document
