A man has been charged with numerous criminal offences in relation to a series of break and enter incidents occurring in North Battleford since April. (file/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Robbery charges

Suspect charged in extensive break & enter investigation

Dec 1, 2021 | 6:00 AM

Battlefords RCMP laid charges in relation to the investigation of a string of robberies that occurred at businesses in North Battleford this year.

Eugene Bear, 36, faces eight counts of break and enter and committing theft, as well as four counts of break and enter with the intent to commit theft and one count of breaching a release order. He was already in custody, after having been arrested for separate charges on Nov. 4 for attempting to break into a business on the 2000 block of 100^th Street.

This follows a lengthy investigation from the detachment and the Municipal General Investigation Section, focused on a rash of commercial break and enters that targeted retails outlets located primarily in the downtown core of the City. Sgt. Neil Tremblay said they hope the arrest will help to ease some of the concerns of the business community.

“They’ve been going through this, in regards to this gentleman, since at least April,” he said. “So, it was nice to be able to get some charges laid.”

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These incidents started back in April and occurred as recently as October. In a media release, Battlefords RCMP highlighted several incidents, including break-ins at a business on Battleford Road that occurred April 25 and Sept. 12 and two break and enters on the 1500 and 1300 blocks of 100^th Street on Aug. 26 and 31. The businesses targeted in these incidents all suffered property damage, and often merchandise loss.

On Sept. 23, a business on the 1200 block of 100^th Street was broken into and that evening and into the following morning, there were four more related incidents. A business break-in occurred on the 1200 block of 101^st Street and damage was done to businesses on the 100 block of 101^st Street, 900 block of 103^rd Street and on Railway Avenue.

Other incidents at businesses, include the 2000 block of 100^th Street on Sept. 30, a business on the 1200 block of 100^th Street was broken into for a second time on Oct. 16 and the 2900 block of 99^th Street on Oct. 25.

Bear was reportedly transient between North Battleford and Alberta, but had been living in the City this summer. Police were not looking at him early on, but a pattern in the crimes was noticed and the RCMP zeroed in after examining evidence.

“We were able to pinpoint that one person was responsible for quite a number of them and then identify this man as a suspect,” he said. “Through additional evidence we collected, we were able to satisfy ourselves that we had sufficient grounds to proceed with charges.”

(file/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Moving forward

As the detachment and GIS continue to investigate break-ins from the past six months, Tremblay said they haven’t ruled out the possibility of further charges. The investigation is ongoing and also looking into the possibility of other suspects, but at this time, Bear is the only one charged.

“Whether it’s going to result in addition charges we don’t know, but we’re still looking into that possibility,” he said.

Tremblay thanked the business owners for support and cooperation throughout the investigation, as well as the public for reporting suspicious activity and providing valuable information.

“They were very patient and understanding and were able to assist us quite a bit,” he said. “A lot of the evidence gathered was from information provided to us by businesses that were targeted, as well as others that weren’t targeted.”

“The business community was a huge help in this investigation.”

Bear is currently in custody and appeared in North Battleford Provincial Court on Tuesday morning. His next scheduled appearance is set for Dec. 16 at 11:00 a.m.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW