Man charged with stealing from 25 businesses

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/02/2023 (1320 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man with a lengthy record of property crime convictions stands accused of committing more than two dozen thefts and break-and-enters at stores and restaurants since late November.

Nickolas Walter Combot, 32, has been charged with five counts of robbery, 10 counts of break-and-enter, 10 counts of theft under $5,000 and one count of resisting a peace officer in relation to 25 incidents as of Nov. 21.

He’s accused of stealing snowblowers, power and hand tools, a barbecue and cash from retail shops and eateries across the city.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said the value of the stolen goods and cash is more than $30,000.

The spree began when a suspect went to a business on the 800 block of Leila Avenue and walked out with a snowblower worth about $2,100 on Nov. 21.

A few days later, a suspect went to a business on Kenaston Boulevard and made off with a chainsaw, two fireplaces and an axe, which police allege he used to threaten workers as he fled.

In one incident, he is accused of resisting store-hired loss prevention guards, which led to the charge of resisting a peace officer, Chancy said.

In other incidents, he is accused of smashing into businesses that had closed for the day and grabbing cash and merchandise. Police said other suspects remain at large.

The last incident occurred on Feb. 3, when two suspects broke the front window of a restaurant on the 1900 block of Henderson Highway and made off with a key for the front door.

The police spokesman said investigators would have used surveillance footage and witnesses, among other evidence, to link the thefts.

“There was definitely a mode of operation for this suspect that was easily linked between all the incidents,” Chancy said.

In April 2020, Combot pleaded guilty to eight counts of theft under $5,000, two counts of break-and-enter and one count of uttering threats in incidents dating to early January 2019, court records show.

He was sentenced to a year in jail and two years of supervised probation on April 24, 2020.

In January 2022, he pleaded guilty to five counts of break-and-enter and one count of possessing property obtained by crime in incidents dating to April 2021. He was given a 329-day jail sentence.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera