Thieves scale building and break into apartment unit: Niagara police

Niagara police are looking for three men who scaled an apartment building and broke into a unit while the residents were sleeping inside.

Officers were called to a building complex on Scott St. in St. Catharines around 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

Police learned three suspects had entered the building and stole from several onsite storage lockers.

The trio also damaged video cameras and other random items in the building’s common areas.

Investigators discovered a unit in the building was entered by the suspects while the residents were asleep inside. The thieves stole personal property and the keys to a grey 2005 Saturn Ion. Police believe the group gained entry by scaling the balcony.

Two of the suspects are believed to be between 20 and 30 years of age while the third’s age is unknown at this time.

The first suspect is described as white and was wearing a plaid toque, and black jogging pants. The second suspect was wearing a black toque, a black Burton sweater, and a green bandana around his face. The third male was wearing a red jacket, a black baseball hat, camouflage shirt, shoes with no laces and was carrying a backpack.

Less than two hours later, police were called to another break-in at a different apartment building on Scott St.

In that incident, two males forced their way into multiple residential mailboxes, causing roughly $1,000 in damages.

The suspects were described as being white and between 25 and 35 years of age. The first man is described as having short black hair and unkempt facial hair. He was wearing grey gloves, dark coloured fitted jeans and a leather jacket with two white insignias across the chest. The other man was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and a scarf covering the bottom half of his face.

Police say the suspects’ vehicle was a Saturn Ion, similar to the one stolen in the first incident.

Early Monday morning, the vehicle was involved in a hit and run collision in the area of Niagara St. and Manning St. It was later found abandoned in a nearby parking lot.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact detectives at 905-688-4111, dial option 3, and ext. 9130.

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