Winkler Police recently received a complaint from a woman who believes she was the victim of fraud after attempting to purchase a vehicle online.

The woman used a company based in Newfoundland which claimed to be acting on behalf of the owner of the vehicle she was attempting to purchase.

After depositing $2,500 Canadian funds into an account at a local bank, the manger of the branch immediately advised her she may be the victim of a scam.

While the deposited money was frozen, it is still unknown if the victim will be able to recover her funds.

Police say the investigations unit of the bank has been notified and is conducting an audit of the situation.

The file is still under investigation.

Winkler Police also report a 3:00 a.m drunk joyride left a 17 year old Morden resident facing charges of Impaired Driving.

In the early morning hours of July 19, police observed a vehicle swerving around barrier posts on a parking lot on Grandeur Avenue. Police stopped the vehicle and detected the odour of liquor coming from inside the vehicle.

Upon further investigation, police also observed a bottle of beer underneath the passenger side seat. It was determined that the driver had consumed a quantity of alcohol, and as such was read the demand to provide a roadside breath sample.

The driver complied which resulted in a Fail reading. He was placed under arrest and transported to the Winkler Police Station where he provided further breath samples which resulted in readings of 100mg% and 90mg%. The legal limit is 80mg%.

The male driver, age 17, is a resident of Morden and has been charged with Impaired Driving and Driving over .08. The driver was also issued tickets for Imprudent Driving and Carry Liquor in a Vehicle. He was served a Promise to Appear and released to his mother.

Winkler Police report a number of other files the week of July 17-23

On July 17 shortly after 9:30 p.m, police received a report from a woman who stated her boyfriend had assaulted and threatened her. The female provided details of the assault and threats made by her boyfriend. The female did not want to charge the male, however she requested police tell him to leave her alone and not contact her again. Police attended to the male’s apartment and advised him to leave the female alone or he may be charged with harassment or stalking. As the complainant declined to press charges, no charges were laid in this incident.

On July 18 a resident of 4th Street South reported his wallet stolen sometime during the night from his vehicle which was parked on his yard. There was no noted damage to the vehicle.

Police received a report of vandalism to a vehicle that was parked inside a local auto body compound for the last three months. Damage consisted of several scratches on both sides of the vehicle, both tail lights were broken and it appeared as though there was an attempt to gain access to the trunk of the vehicle. The vehicle was locked at the time it was dropped off for storage.

On July 20 at approximately 4:20 p.m, a male reported that his wife had smashed out the window of their vehicle with a brick. Upon speaking with the male, police detected an overwhelming odour of liquor coming from his breath and noted the man was unsteady on his feet. The man disclosed to police that he had consumed a large amount of alcohol. The man stated his wife was also very intoxicated and had smashed the window out of the vehicle because he locked the beer inside and told her she could not have anymore. Police observed the damage to the window of the vehicle. After speaking with the male’s wife, officers observed that she also had an overwhelming odour of liquor on her breath and was slurring her words. The female then stated she was going to drink more alcohol and would break whatever she wanted. Police found the female to be not thinking clearly and determined she was unable to make proper decisions. The female was arrested under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act and later released once sober.

On July 21 a resident of Victoria Street reported that someone was in his backyard. Police attended and were unable to locate anyone in the area.

On July 23 police were requested to remove an unwanted male from a complainant's residence. The complainant and his family have repeatedly asked the male to not come to his residence. Police attended and spoke to the male as he was exiting the building. Police warned the male about trespassing and advised him to not return to the residence uninvited.