Winnipeg police have arrested and charged two men and a woman after a two month long city-wide string of break and enters.
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The thefts began with a stolen rental vehicle in December and a number of incidents followed:
- Dec. 18 – the front door of a business in the 600 block of Kildare Avenue East was badly damaged when the suspects tried to break in but failed
- Dec. 30 – suspects forced their way into a business in the 800 block of Waverley Street and stole money and electronics.
- Jan. 4 – money and other items were stolen from a business on Stadacona Street
- Jan. 8 – a licence plate was stolen from a vehicle in the 100 block of Dumoulin Street
- Jan. 10 – money was stolen from a business in the first 100 block of Island Shore Boulevard
- Jan. 14 – a licence place was stolen overnight from an unknown location
- Jan. 18 or 19 – money and other items were stolen from a business on London Street near Kildonan East Collegiate
- Jan. 24 – merchandise was stolen from a store on 700 block of Pembina Highway
- Jan. 30 – a building in the 600 block of St. Anne’s Road was broken into. Nothing was stolen.
- Feb. 1 – the front door at a business in the first 100 block of Red River Boulevard was damaged
Const. Tammy Skrabek said most of the businesses targeted were hair salons, and the majority of items stolen other than cash, was hair product.
Skrabek also said the method of entry in at least half of the cases was a torch, with the suspects burning a hole in the glass of the front door to gain entry. Damage estimates were approximately $1,000 for each location.
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The suspects were arrested after officers spotted and pulled over a stolen vehicle near Main Street and Red River Boulevard Thursday around 12:30 a.m. All three suspects were in the car.
Police found a large amount of stolen items including licence plates, personal mail from varied addresses, gift and retail loyalty cards and IDs.
Skrabek said the items found in the car did not appear to be related to the salon robberies.
“Those items are a whole separate issue,” Skrabek said.
She noted police have not been able to confirm that any mailboxes were broken into, suggesting the items found in the stolen car could be the result of vehicle break-ins.
Skrabek said additional charges may come against the trio once the source of those items is traced.
Emery Peter Smith, 41, Caleb William Michael Covey, 35, Christi Gay Kennedy, all from Winnipeg, 41, have been charged.