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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
'Handyman' robber gets 40 months
A Winnipeg man has been sentenced to 40 months in jail for a string of brazen robberies in which he gained access to his victims’ homes by posing as a handyman.
Wilfred Dennis Lavallee, 62, pleaded guilty earlier this year to 12 counts of break, enter commit indictable offence. All of the crimes occurred between 2007 and 2010 in various parts of the city. He returned to court Friday to learn his fate.
Lavallee has spent 21 and a half months in custody since his arrest which was deduced from his sentencing, leaving him with 18 and a half months left to serve.
Crown attorney Vic Bellay told court Lavallee would often target elderly or disabled residents and claimed he was there to perform a variety of tasks, from touching up paint jobs to inspecting home appliances.
Once inside, Lavallee would wait for an opportunity when the victim wasn’t looking and steal whatever he could get his hands on. He made off with a large quantity of jewellery, cash and bank and credit cards which he would quickly use to make purchases before the victim was even aware they’d been stolen.
In one case, Lavallee even snuck into a child’s bedroom and stole $130 from a piggybank, court was told. In total, Lavallee made off with more than $5,000 in property and money.
Lavallee was seeking a sentence of time already served and blamed his crimes on a chronic alcohol addiction.
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