WINNIPEG — Small businesses repeatedly targeted by thieves are breathing a sign of relief.
Winnipeg police have arrested two people allegedly connected to 26 break and enters in the downtown area.
READ MORE: 2 charged in connection to 26 downtown Winnipeg robberies
On Saturday around 1:30 a.m., police were called to a grocery store on Portage Avenue. With the help of the canine unit, officers went to Broadway and arrested two suspects, Michelle Jazzalyn Bird and Cornell Lee Belanger.
The pair have been charged with 26 counts of breaking and entering as well as 28 charges of possession of break in instruments.
“We were very quickly seeing a pattern,” Const. Jason Michalyshen, with the Winnipeg Police Service said. He said investigators put together a project to try and catch the thieves.
Police said it was mainly smaller businesses being targeted and in some cases they were broken into on more than one occasion.
Ordnry Clothing on McDermot Avenue, was targeted at least twice in December, including on News Year’s Day. Friday Knights, a pop up shop on Graham Avenue, was also broken into twice. The second time was on Christmas Eve.
“Shout out to everyone who stayed positive with us after a tough December, ” Eric Olek, owner of Friday Knights said. “This is a win for a ton of local store owners.”
READ MORE: ‘They stole Christmas from us’: Winnipeg pop-up shop broken into
Police estimated total value of stolen merchandise is around $40,000 with property damage totaling $17,500.
“We were able to recover some cash,” Michalyshen said; adding officers weren’t able to track down the stolen merchandise.
He said it was cooporation with the business owners that helped investigators make the arrests.
“It was really important and couldn’t have done without their support,” Michalyshen said.
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