Convicted killer charged with attacking workers downtown

A convicted killer with a two-decade history of violence is back behind bars — this time it’s alleged he tried to slash two construction workers at a job site downtown.

John Howard Bird, 43, is accused of chasing the workers near Portage Avenue and Main Street around 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Police say a suspect approached the men, ages 23 and 48, on the 200 block of Portage Avenue and pulled out a knife. The workers escaped by running into a nearby building, police said Thursday.

Although the knife slashed one victim’s jacket, he wasn’t hurt.

Twenty minutes later, officers arrested the suspect on the 400 block of Balmoral Street and seized a knife from him.

Bird has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon and single counts of possession of a weapon and breach of recognizance. He was detained in custody.

Police said the attack appeared to be random.

Bird is no stranger to the justice system.

In 2004, when he was 21, Bird was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter in the stabbing death of Lynn Lake resident Roxy Hart, a man he considered his uncle.

Bird’s parole was revoked two times before he was released from custody in February 2013.

Just two years later, Bird was sentenced to 10 years in prison for three violent attacks on his girlfriend.

Court was told Bird was drunk when he beat and choked the 20-year-old victim on two occasions. On a third occasion, Bird accused the woman of infidelity and stabbed her in the stomach.

In 2002, Bird was convicted of separate assaults on his aunt and his girlfriend.

Court records show at the time of his most recent arrest, Bird was facing charges of assault and assault/choking to overcome resistance for offences alleged to have occurred Aug. 1.

On Thursday, construction workers outside a highrise at Portage and Main said no one in their crew was attacked and they didn’t see or hear anything at the time of the incident.

A worker from the Artis REIT building at 220 Portage Ave. said someone came by afterward to check whether they were safe.

A construction worker, who asked not to be named, said they often find people sleeping under scaffolding or come across empty liquor bottles and needles, but violence is rare.

“There are a lot of characters who walk by,” the worker said. “In one moment, a lawyer will be walking by, and then the next someone will come by and toss out a needle.”

The city confirmed the men were not civic employees, but worked for a private firm.

Mayor Scott Gillingham, who recently starting issuing “repeat offender bulletins” to warn the public about violent offenders who’ve been released on bail, said he couldn’t comment on an active case.

“I’ve been clear that we need a justice system that better protects the public from individuals with a pattern of violence or disregard for court orders,” the mayor said in an email.

“Police are re-arresting the same people again and again, and the public is fed up. For weeks, I’ve been highlighting cases where stricter laws could have prevented violent incidents, and that’s exactly why bail reform is so important.”

Gillingham was scheduled to appear before the House of Commons justice committee Thursday, which is studying Canada’s bail system, but the meeting was postponed.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca