Northern Ont. sports store targeted in brazen early-morning burglaries

Timmins sports store owner Reilly Heffernan says 4 high-end bikes were stolen in 2 separate thefts early Sunday after he forgot to set the alarm. Lydia Chubak.

A sporting goods store in Timmins, Ont., fell victim to a targeted theft in the early hours of Sunday morning, resulting in the loss of high-end bicycles with a retail value exceeding $15,000. The incident has prompted the owner to pledge a significant investment in upgraded security measures.

O’Reilly Source for Sports posted images from its surveillance system on its Facebook page depicting two masked individuals inside the premises.

Owner Reilly Heffernan provided a detailed account of the event to CTV New.

“Without jeopardizing the ongoing investigation, I could tell you that around 4:40 a.m., two perpetrators, masked, entered the store illegally through my front door and proceeded to quickly steal three bikes from the store,” he said.

Third suspect exploits an opportunity

The burglary was compounded by a subsequent theft hours later. Heffernan said that a third individual took advantage of the compromised entry point.

“There was a fourth one stolen at 6:26 a.m.,” he said.

“A third perpetrator walked by, saw the door wide open and helped himself.”

History of break-ins and a costly oversight

Heffernan revealed that his establishment has been targeted by thieves approximately a dozen times over the past nine years. He acknowledged that this most recent incident was facilitated by a rare lapse in his usual security protocol – forgetting to activate the alarm system.

“So, yeah, I made a mistake, and I paid for it,” Heffernan said, expressed frustration with victim-blaming rhetoric.

“Lock it or lose it, if you will, I can’t stand that saying… that is a sign that we’re living in an unrighteous land,” he added.

I should be able to leave my front door unlocked and the only thing I should get is a phone call in the morning from someone saying, ‘Hey, I noticed you didn’t remember to lock your door.’”

Owner vows to transform premises into ‘Fort Knox’

Despite not owning the property, Heffernan affirmed his long-term commitment to the business and outlined immediate plans to fortify the location against future criminal activity.

“I’ve got to put some bars on the windows, start making some phone calls about security measures to just make this a harder place to target,” Heffernan added.

Partial recovery of stolen goods

In a positive development following the theft, two of the four stolen bicycles have been recovered and returned to the store. Additionally, a store cell phone was located after Heffernan called the device; it was found in the Timmins and District Hospital’s emergency department.

The investigation into the burglary remains ongoing.