Police have arrested and charged a 33-year-old man after a smoke bomb was set off to distract from an attempted theft.
At 9:45 p.m. on September 18, a man went into Home Depot on Seymour Street, and while there set off a "coloured smoke bomb as a method of distraction before stealing items of property belonging to the business estimated at approximately $700 in value," says a police news release.
Damage from the smoke bomb is estimated at $6,300.
A witness tells BayToday that a stand-up clothes dryer had been dragged out to the parking lot. "He put the smoke bomb in it and set it off."
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on September 28, Street Crime Unit officers located and arrested the suspect.
Derek Todd Dobratz, 33, of North Bay, is charged with:
- Mischief over $5,000
- Theft under $5,000
- Trafficking in property obtained by crime
- Failing to comply with a probation order
Dobratz was held pending a bail hearing at the North Bay Courthouse.
