Man could face four years in jail for violent interactions with police, car theft

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This article was published 24/03/2025 (367 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A car theft spree and violent interactions with the police have put a local man in the position of receiving a jail sentence.

Steven Paul Wiebe is facing four years in jail after three altercations with police in 2023.

On April 14, 2023, around noon, St Pierre RCMP received a call of an abandoned Chevy Cobalt on a rural road in the RM of Hanover. Police came to the scene and noted the licence plate did not match the vehicle. As police were moving in towards the Chevy they noticed a SUV parked beside it.

Wiebe was standing next to the SUV and was throwing everything in his hands into the SUV. He then got in and drove away quickly leaving the trunk open. The officer began to follow the SUV and put his lights on. The SUV stopped and Wiebe jumped out of the vehicle and ran into a wooded area. The officer chased, yelling that it was the police.

More RCMP members came and contained the area and the police service dog was deployed and eventually Wiebe was found and arrested. When he’s told he’s under arrest he started to run again from police, but was later caught and placed under arrest.

Police found that the Chevy Cobalt was stolen from an autobody shop and the SUV had been stolen that morning from Morris and had a stolen Winnipeg licence plate.

Wiebe had a driving prohibition at the time from June 2022.

On Dec. 3, 2023, Wiebe was at Giant Tiger in Steinbach with his girlfriend when he was once again confronted by police. He had parked at Giant Tiger and entered the premises. A shopper noticed the car and thought it looked like a vehicle that had been reported stolen on Facebook. She checked the licence plate on Facebook and confirmed it was stolen and called police.

Police came and set up a perimeter around the parking lot. When Wiebe and his girlfriend approached the car to get in, police blocked him in with their car. Wiebe’s girlfriend obeyed police and put her hands up while Wiebe got in the car and started it. Two constables came to the front and side of the car with their guns drawn and yelled for Wiebe to get out of the car. Wiebe put the car in reverse, hitting the curb, and then into drive where he rammed the police vehicle and hit one of the constables in the left leg and arm as he fled.

One year later the constable that was hit by Wiebe still has to go to physiotherapy.

Then on Dec. 19, 2023, Wiebe was finally arrested by police after they caught him with a stolen SUV from Lorette. During this time, police became aware of Wiebe and that he might have firearms and might shoot himself or police.

“They’re treating this as a very serious situation,” said Crown Jennifer Neufeld.

The RCMP Emergency Response Team as well as police officers from Steinbach RCMP detachment were conducting surveillance on a home in Mitchell where they believed Wiebe was staying.

Shortly after 7 a.m., Wiebe was observed arriving to the residence in a stolen Mitsubishi SUV from Lorette. At 7:40 a.m., they saw him exiting the residence and tried to arrest him. Wiebe rammed the police service dog vehicle with the SUV while trying to get away and refused to get out of the Mitsubishi. Police used gas to get Wiebe out of the SUV whereupon they arrested him after 10 minutes. The police dog service vehicle is a write off with damages totaling $22,486. Neither the police dog nor officer were hurt.

According to Neufeld, Wiebe has a terrible driving record with numerous offences such as four driving impaired convictions and driving while disqualified.

“It’s almost to the point where he needs to have separation from society because he’s dangerous on the road…he has a clear disregard for officer safety and public safety in the manner that he was driving,” she said. “We need to send a strong message that this is something our community can’t tolerate.”

Neufeld asked for a three-year driving prohibition with four years in jail. Wiebe has already spent 452 days in jail with enhanced time counts for 678 days, or almost 22 months.

Defence lawyer Crystal Antila argued that he should receive a conditional sentence to be served at home and in the community. She said he received a conditional sentence before for a prior conviction and had probation to which he had abided by the rules of those sentences.

She said he was abusing drugs prior to the incidents with police. While incarcerated he attended the Winding River program in jail to deal with his drug abuse issues. She said he is interested in going to the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre upon his release.

She said his mother, who lives in Pansy, would offer support to him as would his sister who lives in Steinbach. She said he can work at his family’s hog barn maintenance company during his conditional sentence.

Antila said Wiebe felt shame, remorse, and regret for what had happened.

“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done…I don’t ever want to touch drugs again,” Wiebe told Judge Larry Allen.

Allen reserved his decision for a later date.