A 20-year-old Winnipeg man was arrested after he was caught driving a stolen truck. Police believe he is also connected to a spree of garage robberies.
On Nov. 27, Chase James Swampy was spotted driving a stolen Ford F-150 near Keenleyside Street and Pike Crescent. When officers stopped the truck, they said he “quickly exited” and was arrested. A stolen bike and airsoft gun were found in the truck.
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After a Major Crimes Unit investigation, police linked Swampy to a number of garage break ins around the North End and Elmwood-East Kildonan area between Nov. 22 and Nov. 27. Police said the suspect used a stolen vehicle to back into many of the doors to get inside. The suspect also “defecated on the garage floor prior to fleeing”.
“It’s surprising and the last thing the victim of a break and enter would expect to find in the garage,” Const. Jay Murray, with the Winnipeg Police Service said. “It added insult to injury.”
Investigators believe Swampy was also connected to robberies in June and July. Police said the bicycle found in the stolen truck was from a robbery on July 28 in the 800 block of Main Street. Officers also identified another robbery where a suspect broke into an apartment building in the 200 block of McGregor Street and stole electronics from a common area and destroyed “Ukrainian artifacts” from a storage unit in the building.
Swampy, who was known to police, was charged with: break enter and theft x 10, break and enter with intent x 5, theft of motor vehicle x 3, possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, possession of a weapon, fail to comply with probation order x 14.
List of garage robberies:
- 100 block of McAdam Avenue: Mountain bike approximately $2,200 stolen
- 500 block of Polson Avenue: Tools were stolen
- 700 block of Polson Avenue: Suspect defecated on the floor and ran away
- 500 block of McAdam Avenue: Mountain bike approximately $2,000 stolen
- 600 block of St. Johns Avenue: Was broken into, but nothing stolen
- 1600 block of Arlington Street: Two trucks were stolen
- 600 block of Lansdowne Avenue: Ford F-150 stolen
- 600 block of Bannerman Avenue: Stolen Ford F-150 used to back into garage door to get inside. Nothing was stolen.
- 700 block of Polson Avenue: Stolen Ford F-150 used to back into garage door to get inside. Nothing was stolen.
- 1200 block of Pritchard Avenue: Stolen Ford F-150 used to back into garage door to get inside. A dash camera, tools and two bikes were stolen.
- 400 block of Rupertsland Avenue: Stolen Ford F-150 used to back into garage door to get inside. Sunglasses and tools stolen.
- 800 block of Chalmers Avenue: Stolen Ford F-150 used to back into garage door to get inside. Nothing was stolen.
- 100 block of Pike Crescent: Nothing was stolen
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