Man accused of setting fires at Winnipeg restaurants, MLA offices facing more charges
Posted December 11, 2025 4:49 pm.
The man already accused in a string of arsons across Winnipeg, including at the constituency offices of ministers Nahanni Fontaine and Bernadette Smith, has been charged in connection with three more fires.
BACKGROUND: Charges laid in string of arsons, including 2 Winnipeg MLA offices
Jesse Wheatland, 35, was re-arrested at Milner Ridge Correctional Centre on Tuesday.
He was charged with three counts of arson in connection with three suspicious fires – one in August and two in November. He was also charged with two counts each of intimidation and possession of incendiary material.
He was returned to custody.
Those new charges are in connection with an Aug. 19 fire on Disraeli Freeway, a Nov. 2 fire on Corydon Avenue and one on Nairn Avenue the following day.
Winnipeg police say investigators executed search warrants at a home on St. Mary’s Road and a storage unit on Higgins Avenue where evidence related to the investigation was allegedly seized.
Wheatland was previously facing 22 charges, including arson with a disregard for human life and arson causing damage to property.
The string of alleged crimes took place between June 11 and Nov. 18 and includes damage at the offices of Minister of Families Nahanni Fontaine and Minister of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Bernadette Smith, alongside Johnny G’s on McDermott Avenue, La Roca on Smith Street, and a fire at Boujee Restaurant and Bar.
Additional locations that were damaged were:
- 456 Main Street (Commonwealth Kitchen and Bar)
- 111 Princess Street (Exchange Event Centre)
- 436 Main Street (Palomino Club)
- 1577 Wall Street (Winnipeg School Division administration building)
- 285 Portage Avenue (Tipsy Cow)
- 146 Magnus Avenue (Provincial Treatment Centre)
The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.
–With files from Morgan Modjeski
