Arrest made in Duffy’s Taxi driver slaying

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This article was published 19/03/2020 (1741 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police have charged a 20-year-old man with second-degree murder and issued a Canada-wide warrant for a second homicide suspect, concluding a deadly week in the city.

Police said Friday they had charged 20-year-old Okoth Obeing with second-degree murder in connection to the city’s eighth homicide of 2020: the slaying of cab driver Balvir Toor early Thursday in the William Whyte neighbourhood.

Toor was found by police around 5:25 a.m., after residents on the 500 block of Burrows Avenue noticed a taxi with its emergency light flashing and called 911.

Toor, a 44 year old Duffy’s Taxi driver, had suffered stab wounds and was taken to hospital in critical condition where he died from his injuries, police said.

Police believe the suspect had called for a cab, and after being picked up, stabbed the driver in an unprovoked attack. He fled, and the driver was able to activate his vehicle’s rooftop emergency light.

Obeing was arrested at a home in the King Edward neighbourhood around 9:15 p.m.

He is also charged with four counts of failure to comply with conditions of a release order. He remains in custody.

Obeing was previously convicted of mischief in 2019. Court records show Obeing was released on bail Jan. 7, after being charged a week earlier with possession of stolen property and possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking.

On Friday, police also shared images of a suspect wanted for second-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Vincent Scott Ross, the city’s seventh homicide of 2020.

Police issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for Christian James Bruce, 28, of Winnipeg.

Bruce is described as 5-foot-9, 146 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair, and various skull-related tattoos on both arms, as well as tribal-style tattoos on his face.

Bruce has a lengthy criminal record, including multiple convictions for assault, weapons offences and breaching court orders. Most recently, he was sentenced in February to 90 days’ time served for assaulting a former girlfriend in 2018.

Ross was found March 16 suffering from a gunshot wound in a multi-unit home on the 500 block of College Avenue. He was taken to hospital in critical condition, where he died from his injuries.

The public is cautioned not to approach Bruce, and anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call 911.

Anyone with additional information that might help investigators can call 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

— with files from Dean Pritchard

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca