A 44-year-old man has been sentenced in relation to multiple break-and-enters targeting high-end homes under construction which occurred between September 2022 and February 2023.
Between September 2022 and February 2023, several homes under construction in Burnaby, Coquitlam, and West Vancouver were targeted by theft, having high-end appliances, home finishings, and fixtures stolen.
The stolen property included everything from stoves, fridges, toilets and plumbing fixtures, to flooring and lighting, with many items still in their original packaging. The value of seized goods was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some individual items were estimated to be worth as much as $25,000.
Burnaby RCMP’s Strike Force Unit, which specializes in robberies and property crime offences, launched an investigation in October 2022, and following extensive investigative work identified a suspect.
On February 3, 2023, search warrants were executed at three properties, including two in the Lower Mainland and one north of Creston, B.C. Two shipping containers packed from floor to ceiling with stolen goods were discovered.
The suspect, a man from the Lower Mainland, was arrested.
On January 30, 2024, 27 charges were approved against 44-year-old Chad Russell Hubick.
On July 10, Hubick pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- 3 counts of break-and-enter
- 4 counts of possession of stolen property
On August 14, Hubick was sentenced to two years for each count of break-and-enter (concurrent) and six months for each count of possession of stolen property (concurrent). The sentence for the break-and-enters is to be served consecutively to the possession counts, making the effective sentence two and a half years in jail. This sentence is to be served consecutively to a sentence Hubick is currently serving for an unrelated matter.
The remaining counts were stayed at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing.
“This was a complex investigation, with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen goods recovered,” said Sgt. Aly Mohan with Burnaby RCMP’s Strike Force. “Bringing this file to a successful conclusion, which led to search warrants on properties in the Lower Mainland and the Kootenays, is a testament to the hard work and thoroughness of our property crime investigators.”
