Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 17/99) - Police are investigating a rash of break and enters that occurred over the past week in Yellowknife.

Sgt. Marlin Degrand of the Yellowknife RCMP say the crimes may be connected.

"Because of the proximity and times of the crimes, we are treating them as though they could be related," Degrand said.

"The people who are involved in these break-ins are very motivated," Degrand said.

"They are spending a great deal of time and effort in the thefts that they are involved in."

During a break in at Langlois, early last Friday morning, thieves entered through a ventilation fan at the side of the building and fell about 15 feet through a suspended ceiling to the concrete basement floor.

Clothing manager, Patricia Vienneau, said the thieves made off with very little considering what they could have stolen.

"They took a row of about 15 Nike rings, the float, and a backpack," she said.

"Approximately $900 worth of stuff."

"They never touched any of the other jewelry or clothing," she said. "No leather coats were taken, so I guess we were pretty lucky, considering."

Due to recent renovations, the break-in won't happen again through the same entrance, Vienneau said.

"They won't get in through there now," she said. "They put a grate over it with really long lag bolts in there with an electric screwdriver and tightened them until they stripped."

Around the same time last Friday morning, thieves broke into Canadian Pizza, taking the cash register containing the keys to a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier, belonging to George Varelas, who owns the business.

Varelas said he's not been broken into since he started the business more than 12 years ago.

"We have been in this business more than 12 years and we have never been broken into," Varelas said. "There are more bad people in this part of town now."

He said the thieves must have been inexperienced, because they were not even able to get the cash register -- which was discovered near St. Pat's Parish -- open.

"If they don't know how to open the cash register these are not professionals," he said. "They had to break it open with an axe instead of pushing one button."

"They took the register and they took the keys. They went outside and the keys worked, so they took the car too," he said.

Varelas said thieves had logged more than 100 kilometres on the stolen car before abandoning the vehicle.

Fearing another break-in, Varelas said they are beefing up security at Canadian Pizza.

"I phoned this morning to get bars put in, but that might not help either," he said. "So, we might put in a motion alarm, too."

"We'll have to see what it costs. I'm not sure we can afford it," Varelas added.

Sgt. Degrand from the RCMP says the police are actively seeking tips in solving the string of break-ins.

"Any information that anyone from the general public could provide, would be of great value to us," he said.

"We are treating (the break-ins) as very serious."