Lance Muir, 42, was fatally shot by police during a confrontation Sunday in Winnipeg. (Family photo/CBC)The man shot and killed by Winnipeg police in a West Broadway back lane on Sunday had a dark and troubled past that his family hoped he would escape, CBC News has learned.

Lance Muir, 42, was shot to death in a Langside Street lane at about 9 a.m. Sunday.

Muir was a suspect in a break and enter, police said. When they arrived on the scene, there was a confrontation and Muir was fatally shot, police said.

Witnesses described seeing Muir holding a crowbar and a pillowcase before police arrived. It's believed he was hit by bullets while driving a stolen car toward police.

Police, however, have not confirmed this or said much else about the circumstances leading up to the shooting.

Ties to biker gang

Police confirmed they'd had many contacts with Muir over the years.

In 1996, he was involved in an attempted shooting murder of a fellow member of the Spartans motorcycle gang.

He served a full 10-year sentence for the crime after the National Parole Board ruled he was too much of a risk to be allowed out in public on special forms of early release.

'For those who knew him well, his past didn't matter.'— Melanie Muir-Backman,Lance Muir's sister

When Muir was given mandatory statutory release in 2003, after serving two-thirds of his sentence for the attempted murder, the parole board placed restrictions on him, according to documents obtained by CBC News.

Muir was ordered to abstain from all intoxicants and not associate with people involved in crime activities.

A Winnipeg police officer stands guard just metres from the area where Lance Muir smashed a suspected stolen car into a BFI bin. (James Turner/CBC)"Your avoidance of people who are involved in crime and drug use are key risk-management strategies in your case," the board said.

Within a month, Muir's release was revoked after he admitted to his parole officer that he snorted three lines of cocaine while working as a tattoo artist in Winnipeg. He promised to turn himself in but went underground instead for seven more months.

He was eventually arrested and returned to prison to complete his full sentence, which expired in July 2007.

Prior to his being set free, the parole board noted Muir's long battle with alcohol and drugs, which sometimes prompted him to resort to violence to resolve problems.

'Shirt off his back'

His sister, Melanie Muir-Backman, said Monday that he promised to try to get his life together after leaving prison.

"He swore when he got out of jail he would get his life back on track," she said.

Muir struggled to find work and didn't keep close ties with relatives, Muir-Backman said. But despite his troubles he was intelligent and generous, she said.

"The brother I knew would give the shirt off his back. … For those who knew him well, his past didn't matter."

Because Muir was shot by police, an inquest into his death is mandatory under provincial law.

The police investigation is still in the hands of the Winnipeg homicide squad. The findings will be reviewed by an outside police agency and an independent Crown attorney.