#69: THIS IS INDIAN LAND

🚓 CRIME - 3 Winnipeggers busted for online dating robbery scheme

👪️ FAMILY - Woman sentenced to 1 year in prison for burning down son’s restaurant in Southwestern Ontario

🚓 CRIME - Windsor woman, 61, arrested for allegedly assaulting kids running lemonade stand

Good morning.

My wife went camping on Lake Superior this week and saw some rez graffiti on her way.

She snapped an excellent photo, which is featured in today’s issue.

Remember to send over your own graffiti pics for a feature. 📸 

Enjoy today’s stories.

-Peter

⌛️ Today’s read is 2 minutes long.

Three Winnipeggers have been arrested for allegedly running an online dating robbery scheme.

44-year-old Reena Lee Ducherer, 51-year-old Kelly William James Johnston, and an unnamed 61-year-old man are facing charges for allegedly robbing men after catfishing them on dating sites.

Between February and August, several men reported meeting a 44-year-old woman through online dating sites and arranging in-person meetings. 

When the men attended the pre-arranged addresses, they were confronted by men armed with knives and robbed of their personal possessions, including wallets and car keys. 

The perpetrators then used the men’s vehicles to drive to nearby businesses and ATMs, make fraudulent purchases, and withdraw funds. 

After returning to the residences, the catfished men were allowed to leave.

Police made the arrests after identifying several suspects and two residences linked to the robberies: one on Eugenie Street near Youville Street and another on Polson Avenue near McGregor Street.

The charges against Ducherer, Johnston, and the 61-year-old man have not been proven in court.

A mother has been sentenced to a year in prison for burning down her son’s restaurant in Bayfield, ON.

64-year-old Sonya Larson will also serve two years of probation and 60 hours of community service for committing arson at The Hub on the Docks on Oct. 17, 2023.

The fire caused $1.7M in damages.

Larson was arrested a year after the fire and charged with break and enter, arson, and possession of incendiary material.

She was caught on surveillance footage on Oct. 13, 2023 entering the closed restaurant and using paper from the garbage to start two fires. The flames went out on their own.

Three days later, she was seen on surveillance video again entering the closed restaurant and disabling the alarm system. She lit a fire in the men’s bathroom, but it also went out on its own.

Then, on Oct. 17, 2023, she was caught on camera entering the closed restaurant once again and disabling the alarm system. This time she carried a cardboard box and a flashlight. 

She walked through the dining area to the kitchen. When she left a short time later, heavy smoke was seen wafting into the room.

Larson pleaded guilty to one count of arson earlier this year, but her motive remains unclear. 

In sentencing submissions, she said that she was in a “dark place” in October 2023 and didn’t recall setting the fire.

“I had a breaking point,” she told police. 

The Hub on the Docks never reopened after the fire. 

“I lost over a million dollars, after insurance,” said Kevin Larson, Sonya’s son. “The property went under power of sale. I received nothing from the final sale.”

Kevin says he’s focused on rebuilding his relationship with his mother.

“I have no fear of her,” he said. “I am not afraid for my children around her. I am afraid of what this process is going to do to all of us.” 

“She’s an amazing grandmother. She is constantly involved, especially in my sister’s life with her children.”

In an unrelated matter, Kevin is expected back in court on Sept. 18 to answer for two fraud-related charges.

_{Source: CTV News}

A Windsor woman is facing charges after allegedly assaulting two children running a lemonade stand.

Carrie-Lynn Pace, 61, was arrested late on Aug. 3 after allegedly pushing an 8-year-old boy to the ground and flipping a 13-year-old boy’s chair.

The boys were running a roadside lemonade stand in Walkerville near Gladstone Avenue and Niagara Street.

Pace allegedly approached the stand around 9 PM and became hostile toward the boys before assaulting them.

Both children sustained minor injuries

Pace faces two counts of assault. The charges against her have not been proven in court.