One-man retail crime wave: 19 counts of theft, $20,000 in merchandise

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This article was published 15/12/2023 (666 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Released from jail after serving an 11-month sentence for a string of brazen big-box store thefts, Tyler Bickley wasted no time returning to what landed him in custody.

On Thursday, the 30-year-old Winnipeg man admitted to walking off with more than $20,000 in merchandise during a 10-week, city-wide crime spree.

Bickley pleaded guilty to 19 counts of theft from Home Depot, Lowe’s and other businesses between May 24 and Aug. 7, stealing everything from clothing to chainsaws, leaf blowers and generators.

Court heard Bickley hit one Lowe’s home improvement outlet eight times between June 4 and July 18.

Bickley pleaded guilty to an additional 13 counts of failing to comply with a probation order condition he not attend any Home Depot or Lowe’s outlet. He will be sentenced at a later date, following the completion of a court-ordered pre-sentence report.

Bickley’s one-man crime wave came just two months after he was convicted of eight counts of theft from Home Depot and Lowe’s locations between July 15 and Oct. 14, 2022.

Court heard at his March 22 sentencing Bickley, on four occasions, walked out of stores with more than $1,000 in merchandise.

“I don’t know how you can walk out of the store with $1,000 of tools,” provincial court Judge Brent Stewart said. “That’s big money… That you were able to do it is amazing.”

“I don’t know how you can walk out of the store with $1,000 of tools. That’s big money… That you were able to do it is amazing.”–Judge Brent Stewart

On at least one occasion, Bickley escaped arrest through threats, telling one loss-prevention officer who confronted him: “I just did 13 years for a double homicide. Your lives don’t mean anything to me.”

When the loss-prevention officer called 911, Bickley said: “If you touch me, I will stab you. I am coming for you after work.”

Bickley pawned everything he stole to support a crack addiction, defence lawyer Manny Bhangu told court.

“The 140 days he has spent in custody has been eye-opening, in terms it has given him his first period of sobriety in years,” Bhangu said. “He has had a chance to digest what has happened and what led him to those incidents.”

Court heard Bickley had been homeless and living in a tent prior to his arrest, but since coming into custody had developed a supportive romantic relationship and had a solid job prospect following his release.

Given a chance to speak to court, Bickley apologised for his actions and promised to “do better.”

“In my incarceration time here, I’ve gained skills and learned a lot of good things,” he said. “I want to change.”

“In my incarceration time here, I’ve gained skills and learned a lot of good things… I want to change.”–Tyler Bickley

Bickley pleaded guilty to an additional count of brandishing a fake firearm (unrelated to the thefts) and breaching a weapons prohibition order.

Stewart sentenced Bickley to 11 months, minus credit for the equivalent of seven months served. The judge urged Bickley to make good on a promise to follow through on drug treatment.

“You just don’t realize how out of your mind you are when you are on drugs,” he said. “Every time you take that garbage, it just perverts your whole view.”

In November, city police announced a targeted effort to cuff serial shoplifters, prompted by a reported increase in the thefts and concerning violence against store workers and shoppers.

Major crimes Insp. Jennifer McKinnon said at a news conference earlier this month police began by targeting hot spots (such as the Polo Park and Kildonan Crossing areas and downtown), but planned to expand to other areas over the holiday shopping season.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca