Police charge man, 57, after autographed NHL jerseys stolen
Ottawa police west district detectives charged a 57-year-old man after a bandit made off with two autographed NHL jerseys from the Carlingwood Mall in August.
Robert Crevier was charged Wednesday with theft under $5,000, mischief under $5,000 and possession of stolen property.
On Aug. 10, two autographed and framed hockey jerseys were stolen from the mall, where they were on display as part of a children’s charity auction at the Rexall store. Police said the jerseys were returned before Crevier was arrested, and investigators believe that the suspect himself returned them.
Crevier is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 28.
He is also due to appear in court on Dec. 22 on unrelated charges of theft under $5,000.
His most recent conviction was in November 2014, when he spent 60 days in jail after being found guilty of possession of break-andenter instruments.
He has faced various charges in the past, including drug possession, break and enter with intent, possession of weapons dangerous to public peace and aggravated assault.
Greg Brown, a manager at the Rexall Pharma Plus that was hosting the auction, said he was relieved that the police had made an arrest.
“It feels fantastic,” he said. “Justice has been served, and the story turned from a pitiful story into a heartfelt story.”
Police were able to identify the suspect, in large part, through public tips and surveillance images at the mall.
“The public support was incredible,” said Brown. “Right from the first media release on what had happened, we had customers coming into the store offering their sympathy. They were very empathetic. We had a few customers donate items to our silent auction. We had some customers donate money to our cause, to our children’s foundation.”
According to Brown, the jerseys were returned in a plastic bag, but they had been “ripped off the frame” and damaged as a result.
The jerseys were still in good enough shape to be auctioned off, he said, and together sold for $1,100.
“When they were returned to me from the police, I kept them in the police evidence bags,” he said. “And that drew a lot of interest.”
The story took another turn for the better, too, after the jerseys were returned. Brown said he was approached by a framing company that offered to frame the jerseys for the winners of the auction at no cost.
“I figured that was the least I could do,” said Tom Carter, the owner of Framing & Arts Centre on Merivale Road.
Carter, who said he’d followed news of the theft up until the jerseys were returned, didn’t want the story to end on a sour note.
“I thought the story was finished with, and he was just going to have these two jerseys that were slightly damaged that nobody was going to be able to do anything with,” he said. “I frame jerseys all the time, so adding two more jerseys to my list is not a terribly big deal. So I figured I’d just lend a hand.”