Man accused of stabbing stranger downtown released three times on separate charges

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This article was published 13/09/2022 (737 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man accused of stabbing a stranger on a downtown street and chasing others with a knife was on bail for assaulting two police officers and other charges, court records show.

Trevor Mark Lesko, 24, was arrested Sept. 9 and charged with assault with a weapon, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and failing to comply with release conditions.

Police were called to the area of Memorial Boulevard and St. Mary Avenue following reports of a man armed with a knife threatening to stab people. Shortly after, a 41-year-old man was found at the intersection of Broadway and Balmoral Street stabbed in the chest.

According to court records, Lesko was arrested and released three times on a variety of violent charges in the seven months prior to last week’s attacks.

Lesko was charged with assault on Feb. 21 and released by police on an undertaking including conditions he have no contact with the victim and not attend The Forks.

Lesko was arrested again on March 14 after he allegedly threatened a man with a knife and was again released by police on an undertaking.

Lesko was back in custody May 5 after allegedly threatening to kill a woman and robbing her of her cellphone and then assaulting two police officers “engaged in the execution (of their) duties,” say court records, which do not include details of the assaults.

Lesko remained in custody until May 17 when, with the consent of the Crown, he was granted bail by a judicial justice of the peace. Lesko’s release conditions included requirements he have no contact with his alleged victims, live at the McLaren Hotel, observe a nightly curfew, not possess any weapons and submit to an addictions assessment.

“Are you prepared to abide by these conditions?” the justice of the peace asked Lesko.

“I am, totally I am,” Lesko told court via video from Milner Ridge Correctional Centre.

Lesko’s bail was revoked after his most recent arrest and he remains in custody. His next court date is Sept. 23.

Lesko’s release on the earlier charges could have been opposed by the Crown on the grounds he posed a danger to the community or that his release would bring the justice system into disrepute, said University of Manitoba law Prof. Brandon Trask.

“These are serious outstanding charges,” he said. “Robbery in particular is a serious offence with a possible (maximum) life sentence. A robbery on top of other violent offences is approaching a concerning level.”

The Supreme Court has “made it clear” that an accused offender’s right to reasonable bail is to be respected, Trask said.

“There is a tendency now to release individuals in what is a stark contrast to previous practices,” he said. “It’s about striking this balance of not holding everybody who has been arrested in custody.”

None of Lesko’s three prior arrests were the subject of a bail hearing.

“Bail hearings can be beneficial in providing a fuller picture,” Trask said. “Sometimes it can be beneficial to put all the facts before the court and let a judge make a decision. Sometimes that is the right call.”

Lesko’s arrest comes on the heels of a call last month by Manitoba Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen to change the Criminal Code to make it harder for people accused of knife crimes to be freed on bail.

Goertzen sent a letter to federal Justice Minister David Lametti in August asking him to consider amending the Criminal Code to add knives to a provision that makes it harder for someone charged with a gun crime to get bail.

“Adding knives to that would make it easier for our prosecutors to say, ‘Hey, this probably isn’t an appropriate time for somebody to be out on bail because of the significance of the charge they’re facing,’” Goertzen said.

The provision puts a reverse onus on the accused to, essentially, prove why they should obtain bail, he said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca