Bike store thief with ‘terrible’ record ordered to abide by curfew

More than $20,000 worth of goods taken from Liberty! Bicycles

A man who broke into a St. Catharines bicycle shop — leaving the business vulnerable to other thieves, who helped themselves to thousands of dollars in property after discovering the door was open — has been ordered not to be out at night.

“You have a terrible criminal record,” Judge Joseph de Filippis told James Elliott, who has multiple convictions for break and enter.

“I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but there’s no other way to describe it.”

Elliott appeared in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines on Friday and pleaded guilty to several counts of break and enter. The 40-year-old was sentenced to time served and placed on probation for three years.

He was also ordered to abide by a curfew for the first 12 months of his probation.

“Frankly, until you get your issues under control you are a threat to public safety and you shouldn’t be out at night,” the judge added.

Court heard that in November 2019, Elliott removed a metal door panel to gain enter to Liberty! Bicycles on Bond Street.

He grabbed $15,000 in electronics and equipment and a $6,000 bicycle, and left the area.

“Once that entry point was made it allowed subsequent criminals to steal several other bicycles from the shop, resulting in a substantial amount of loss,” said assistant Crown attorney Grace Pang.

Elliott returned to the same store later in the month and was caught on video surveillance removing a seal from a metal panel with a knife.

“However, the panel was reinforced at that time by the store owner,” Pang told the judge.

He left empty-handed and returned a third time in early December. He cut the seal on the panel, but was unable to gain entry.

The incident was captured on video, court heard, which included footage of him tossing a cigarette butt. Police seized the cigarette and DNA testing linked it to Elliott.