Condo furniture stolen in St. John's recovered in Quebec, thieves still at large

About $30,000 worth of furniture stolen from a condo in St. John's in late January has been found in a storage locker in Quebec City, but the culprits — including a man with a criminal history that spans a decade — remain at large.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said police in Quebec are going through the locker but the items all appear to be there, and the owner of the condo is very pleased.

The RNC issued a news release Thursday, saying Dominic Delisle and Sarah Deneault, 34, were wanted in connection with the bold theft, and warrants had been issued for their arrest.

Police said the couple rented a furnished condo in the Rabbittown area in the centre of the city in January, before making off with everything inside, except the dishwasher, washer and dryer. 

According to police, CCTV footage shows them loading up truck between 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 29. The owner discovered the theft five days later.

• RNC search for 2 tenants who allegedly stole $30K worth of items from St. John's condo

Police said Friday the moving company hired by the couple provided "useful information" that helped track the stolen goods.

A spokesperson for the RNC said the company is not believed to be involved in any criminal activity, and thought the couple was just a regular client.

Criminal history

Delisle, 30, is well known to police in Quebec where he has a long criminal record that includes weapons offences, uttering threats and forcing women into prostitution.

He has pimping convictions dating back to 2007, according to the Parole Board of Canada, which said he targeted girls aged 15 to 17.

In documents obtained by CBC News, the board said he threatened to blow up the car of a prison warden while serving time in 2013, and threatened guards, especially females.

Delisle has lived in Quebec City, where he was believed to be affiliated with two street gangs — Wolf Pack and Rue 187 — and has been incarcerated at Donnacona and Port Cartier prisons.

The parole board, in a September 2016 decision, ordered that Delisle serve his full sentence, saying he had refused therapy and could reoffend and cause serious harm to another person.

He was released when his sentence ended last year.

Violence and weapons

Delisle made headlines in Quebec in 2016 when he sued the Attorney General of Canada for the right to have conjugal visits with his spouse while in prison.

The parole board noted that he had previously been charged with threatening her, and while the charge was withdrawn, there was a restraining order in place.

In an earlier decision in September 2014, the board noted that violence and the use of weapons was part of Delisle's criminal lifestyle, and said he posed a continuing danger to women.

The RNC said Delisle has never been arrested in this province, and his criminal history is not relevant to a theft investigation, so the information wasn't included in the statement released Thursday.

Police said the arrest warrant is still outstanding. If the pair are picked up in another province, a decision will have to be made about whether to bring them back to Newfoundland.