July 28, 2021 – A 40-year-old Thunder Bay woman is facing new charges relating to thefts from seniors and other vulnerable residents in the city.

Police said the accused was arrested on July 20 and charged over crimes that stretch back to the spring of this year.

However, she’s also facing nearly 40 other charges from similar crimes that occurred in 2020; those charges are still working their way through the court system, police said.

The recent charges stem from an investigation conducted by the police’s Crimes against Seniors Unit, with assistance from the Break and Enter and Robbery Unit and uniform patrol officers into a series of incidents in which seniors and other vulnerable victims were stolen from or defrauded.

The complaints involved a suspect, or suspects, gaining entry into the homes of victims and then stealing or defrauding them of money or belongings.

Police said in once such incident, which occurred on July 3, a female suspect broke into a home in the 100 block of Cumberland Street south.

The victim in the incident had limited mobility and was unable to leave their bed without assistance. The suspect entered the home claiming to be a health care worker, but refused to further identify herself; she fled before police arrived.

Investigation led police to identify a suspect and determine that the same suspect had entered other homes in the same area on the same date and stolen cash from vulnerable victims.

The accused was arrested on July 20 and charged with two counts of failing to comply with a release order, one count of being unlawfully in a dwelling and two counts of theft under $5,000, in relation to the 2021 incidents. CBC News reports. | READ MORE