Winnipeg police destroyed seized guns that judge ordered to auction, lawsuit alleges

Ozten Shebahkeget · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A Winnipeg antheral suing the metropolis and constabulary alleges immoderate guns seized from his location implicit 3 years agone were destroyed contempt a judge's bid to nonstop them to auction.

Winnipeg constabulary destroyed implicit $50,000 worthy of firearms that were portion of an extended firearm collection seized from Andrew Krywonizka's Windsor Park home, says a connection of assertion filed astatine the Manitoba Court of King's Bench connected Friday.

Krywonizka, 46, was arrested and charged with 70 weapons-related offences successful October 2019.

Police said they took 73 firearms, including afloat automatic, prohibited, unregistered and restricted guns, much than 10,000 rounds of ammunition, astir 40 prohibited high-capacity magazines, galore exploding targets and pyrotechnics and 2 assemblage armour pieces from his home.

Some of Krywonizka's firearms were forfeited to prosecutors, but provincial tribunal Judge Mary Kate Harvie ordered immoderate beryllium sent to auction, the suit says.

An auctioneer who contacted constabulary to get the firearms was told that they would not beryllium released until an entreaty by prosecutors was handled.

The auctioneer contacted constabulary again successful aboriginal 2023, months aft the Crown's entreaty was dismissed, but did not person a meaningful response, the suit says.

Months later, Krywonizka learned constabulary had destroyed each of his seized firearms, but helium didn't find retired specifically who destroyed them oregon why, the suit says.

None of the allegations person been proven successful court. A connection of defence has not yet been filed.

A Winnipeg constabulary spokesperson told CBC News that they were unaware of the suit and declined to comment. A metropolis spokesperson besides declined to comment.

Krywonizka's suit does not specify however galore oregon what benignant of guns were allegedly destroyed by police, but says they would person sold for much than $50,000 collectively if they had made it to auction.

Krywonizka's seeking an unspecified magnitude of wide and peculiar damages.

Gun fascination 'morphed'

Police searched his location aft Canadian borderline agents notified them that they'd seized a suppressor — besides known arsenic a silencer, utilized to muffle the dependable of gunshots — successful July 2019.

Court heard that Krywonizka was diagnosed with autism spectrum upset aft his arrest.

A doc told the tribunal that Krywonizka gained a consciousness of comfortableness from his assorted collections, which besides included exemplary trains, uncommon books and Lego, and that they were a compulsive method of managing his anxiety.

"What began arsenic a passionate involvement successful studying and acquiring firearms morphed into transgression conduct," Harvie wrote in her October 2021 sentencing determination for Krywonizka.

He was deemed a low-risk to reoffend and was not considered unsafe to the community.

Kevin Toyne, the lawyer representing Krywonizka, declined to remark connected the lawsuit.