DNA leads to man’s arrest for break-ins

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This article was published 12/08/2025 (226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police used DNA taken from a crime scene to link a man to four St. Vital break-ins this spring.

Suspects forced their way into an apartment building on the 500 block of St. Anne’s Avenue on March 24 and broke into tenant mailboxes, causing $2,000 in damage. Mail was stolen, along with three bicycles from the basement parking garage. One suspect left an item with DNA on it at the building, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release Tuesday.

That same day, suspects broke into two apartment buildings on the 200 block of Beliveau Road, then broke into mailboxes and stole mail.

In another incident that day, suspects forced their way into an apartment building on the 100 block of Worthington Avenue and broke into tenant storage lockers, causing $1,600 in damage. An undetermined amount of property was stolen.

The DNA sample matched a profile in the national offender database, the WPS said. Police arrested a 33-year-old man on a DNA warrant on Aug. 1 and obtained a blood sample.

He was arrested again on the 300 block of Kennedy Street on Aug. 11. Police seized a pocketknife he allegedly had on him.

The man is charged with four counts of break-and-enter and single counts of possession of a weapon and breach of recognizance. He was detained in custody. Court records show he has convictions for theft, assault, robbery, weapons offences and multiple breaches of court orders from 2014 to 2024.

Police are still searching for one or more other suspects in the break-ins.