Oakville man arrested in connection with theft of Wayne Gretzky sports memorabilia

An Oakville man has been arrested in connection with the theft of Wayne Gretzky sports memorabilia.

Brantford police officers were called in August 2020, after various pieces of Wayne Gretzky sports memorabilia were found to be missing from the Brantford home of Walter Gretzky.

Police say their investigation discovered that several of the missing items had likely been sold to collectors across Canada. Because of this, the RCMP and OPP were called in to help.

Over three months, police were able to identify residences where the stolen property was believed to be located.

Search warrants were executed at five homes in Ontario and Alberta.

Police were able to successfully recover several items, including hockey gloves, sticks, jerseys and a player of the year award.

They say the value of the recovered property is believed to be over $500,000 USD.

A 58-year-old man from Oakville is charged with theft over $5,000 and possession over $5,000.

Police uncovered evidence of a second person, unrelated to the initial investigation, believed to have committed fraud involving a Gretzky hockey stick.

A 58-year-old woman from Brockville is charged with fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust.

Police say the investigation in ongoing.