Thief and break-in artist released

A shoplifting his sentenced custody. Shane Niagara drug Dupuis, addiction man and and robbery who 31, released appeared has turned to been from fuel to in Ontario Catharines conference Court Thursday from of Justice Niagara via video in Detention St. guilty to Centre a number and of pleaded charges including frauds, thefts and robbery. Court heard he was responsible for 12 cases of shoplifting over a three-month period in spring 2019.

In most of the cases, he’d target LCBO stores in St. Catharines and steal bottles of booze as well as perfumes from Shoppers Drug Mart.

In March 2019, court was told, a home in St. Catharines was broken into and, among the items stolen, was a credit card. The break-in is believed to have occurred between midnight and 3:30 a.m. At 3:43 a.m., Dupuis was captured on surveillance using the credit card at a nearby convenience store. Within a half-hour, he used the stolen card five times at variety stores, gas stations and Tim Hortons. All transactions were captured on video surveillance. He also pleaded guilty to an armed robbery which occurred in May 2019 at a St. Catharines gas station. “He was a property man up until the robbery,” assistant Crown attorney Tim Hill told Judge Donald Wolfe. “He’s been a thief and a breakin artist. This is really his first involvement with violence.”

Court heard Dupuis was on probation at the time of the offences in relation to a series of convictions from Oshawa.

Defence lawyer David Barrison told the judge his client developed a significant opioid addiction while living in Oshawa. He relocated to St. Catharines to try to escape that lifestyle.

He said Dupuis committed the crimes to get items he could sell to support his addiction.

“Nothing was really for his own personal use,” said Barrison.

The defendant had spent the equivalent of just more than 17 months in jail in presentence custody. He was sentenced to time served and placed on probation for three years.