Man who stole more than $300K in product from LCBO stores handed prison sentence

A man accused of more than 100 liquor store thefts across southern Ontario will remain behind bars. CTV’s Jeff Pickel has more on his two-year crime spree.

A man who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $300,000 worth of product from LCBO stores has been sentenced to five years in prison.

He was initially suspected in 110 similar thefts across Ontario, including 10 in Guelph. Other areas included Centre Wellington, Fort Erie, Barrie, Kingston, Milton, London, Cambridge, Kitchener and Mississauga.

The Guelph Police Service said investigators tracked the suspect to St. Catharines on May 5, 2024. He and another man were found sleeping in a car, which police said was linked to some of the thefts.

With help from members of the Niagara Regional Police Service, officers blocked the vehicle in. The man woke up, realized what was happening and rammed several of the cruisers with the vehicle in an attempt to flee, police said in a news release.

He was unsuccessful and was taken into custody.

Police said the 27-year-old and 35-year-old were both charged with two counts of possessing stolen property over $5,000, two counts of possessing stolen property under $5,000, obstructing police, possessing identity documents and breaching court orders. The 27-year-old was also charged with dangerous driving.

The suspect, who police did not name, eventually pleaded guilty to a long list of charges, including several counts of theft over $5,000, theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving and assault with a weapon.

He was sentenced to five years in prison, less the time he spent behind bars since his May 2024 arrest. The man was also prohibited from driving for three years.

The LCBO’s chief retail officer, John Summers, said they take shop theft seriously and are committed to ensuring shopping or working at their stores is a safe experience.

“The outcome of the Guelph Police Service investigation is the culmination of many months of work by the LCBO’s Resource Protection team,” Summers said, in part, in a statement to CTV News.

“Every time there is an incident in our stores, our employees and security guards complete incident reports; these are critical in helping to build evidence and track patterns across our network. Meanwhile, our investigators leverage data and analytics, gather evidence, conduct discreet monitoring and work closely with police services to help hold criminals accountable.”

He said this is one of more than 1,000 theft-related arrested that have been made in the last eight months as the LCBO continues to work with police services across the province.