Bloody thief to return to court for sentencing

A 27-year-old man who had a habit of accidentally cutting himself when he broke into convenience stores, leaving copious amounts of his DNA at the scenes, will return to court in May.

Allan Mustard, of no fixed address, appeared in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Thursday and pleaded guilty to a multitude of charges including five counts of break, enter and commit theft.

Judge Peter Wilkie ordered a pre-sentence report be prepared prior to sentencing. Mustard is set to return to court May 17.

Between July 2017 and September 2017, court heard, the defendant targeted a number of Avondale stores in St. Catharines, Fort Erie, Thorold and Welland as well as a Fort Erie restaurant.

In each case, he’d smash a window to gain entry and then make his way to the cashier area and steal thousands of dollars in cigarettes and scratch lottery tickets, said assistant Crown attorney Robert Mahler.

All told, he grabbed $5,700 in cigarettes and $6,700 in scratch tickets, as well as some cash.

Court heard Mustard cut himself during the several of the break ins. Niagara Regional Police were able to match the defendant’s DNA to blood found at the scene.

On Sept. 29, 2017, he led police on a high speed chase that ended in Fort Erie.

An off-duty Niagara Regional Police officer was driving along the Queen Elizabeth Highway near Netherby Road when he spotted a van being driven in an erratic manner.

The van exited the highway at Bowen Road and pulled to the side of the road.

The officer spoke to Mustard, the lone occupant, and identified himself as a police officer and directed him to pull off the roadway further. Mustard then fled the area at a high rate of speed.

Police discovered the van abandoned a short time later. A police dog tracked Mustard to a shed and he was arrested without incident.