Suspects who allegedly took kids to crime arrested

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This article was published 22/03/2024 (564 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police have charged two adults wanted in connection with several shoplifting incidents, including some in which a child was with them.

Both were arrested on the 300 block of Boyd Avenue at about 9:45 p.m. Thursday after police received “information from the public.”

The child who accompanied them in some of the incidents, who is under 10 years old, has yet to be identified, the Winnipeg Police Service said Friday.

Neither suspect is believed to be a parent of the child. Police released images of the two adults a little more than 12 hours before their arrests and asked for the public’s help in finding them.

Police said Thursday that the same two suspects were responsible for eight theft incidents at three stores — on the 800 block of Regent Avenue, the 300 block of McPhillips Street and the 1600 block of Kenaston Boulevard — between Dec. 6 and Feb. 18. The thieves made off with a total of $1,300 worth of products and groceries items, and the child was with them in four of the incidents.

Police said Friday they have since linked the pair to several similar retail theft incidents in March. A police spokesman said he did not know whether the child was at any of the March incidents.

Lorne Quintin Flett, 44, and Lena Rose Romero, 41, are charged with numerous counts of theft under $5,000, robbery and failure to comply with orders. They were detained in custody.

Flett has a limited criminal record. He was convicted in 2001 of assault and was given a peace bond, as well as a fine for a charge of failing to comply with a promise to appear, court records show.

Romero pleaded guilty to an assault offence after being charged with robbery with a weapon and pleaded guilty to two counts of theft under $5,000 in January 2023, records show. She was given a total of 48 days, considering time in custody, and a year of unsupervised probation.

Romero pleaded guilty to three counts of theft under $5,000 and one count of identity fraud to avoid arrest in January 2020. She was given eight days in jail, considering time served.

Const. Claude Chancy, WPS spokesman, said Thursday there have been cases in which children accompanied adults in shoplifting or robbery incidents.

“We have adults that are at times engaging in criminal acts with children that appear to be in their care,” he said. “It’s something that is very concerning to the WPS.”

A man was arrested and later charged in a Feb. 12 incident in which a suspect robbed a store on the 1100 block of Main Street and placed stolen goods in the backpack of a young boy who was with him.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca