Pitbull, racoon and machete-wielding thief with wigs who broke into church taken in

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This article was published 30/04/2024 (364 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Grunthal man was sentenced in Steinbach court April 19 for a series of crimes from April to November 2023 that included theft of a vehicle full of wigs, breaking into a church with the help of someone hiding inside, waving a machete and getting shot in the face with a paintball gun, and more.

The agreed to facts read in court also involved what sounded like a pitbull living with a racoon.

Raymond Wolfred Delorme, 39, received a total sentence of 12 months plus 15 months of supervised probation after he is released. The crimes he pleaded guilty to were possessing a motor vehicle over $5,000 obtained by crime twice, breaking and entering into a church to steal TVs, assault with a weapon for waving around a machete, possessing a motor vehicle under $5,000, and breaking his release order curfew.

It was breaking the curfew on Nov. 19 that finally saw Delorme stay in custody after his first crime on April 17 of last year. He had 123 days to go after in-custody enhanced credit of time and a half was applied.

Delorme had no violent record, and no criminal record at all for the last 20 years. Then he said he got addicted to meth and crack after a job loss, some personal struggles, and a job offer that included payment in drugs.

Released on scene

The seven-month crime spree started April 17 at 9:30 a.m. when Steinbach RCMP were dispatched to a suspicious vehicle just south of Blumenort.

They were called by a witness who saw a brown truck by the side of the road with two people inside, described as hunched over and covering their faces with hoodies. Officers found the license plate to be inactive and for a different vehicle that had been registered by Delorme.

The passenger had a warrant for his arrest and was taken into custody. An officer entered the wrong VIN for the truck and without any proper information, let Delorme go at the scene with no charges.

That mistake was rectified when the VIN was double-checked and it was discovered the truck was stolen in October 2022. Delorme was asked to turn himself in. He did and was released.

The racoon, the pitbull and the wigs

Next, it was St. Pierre RCMP’s turn to catch Delorme with a stolen vehicle — this time with wigs. But first, they paid a visit to the pitbull and racoon in Grunthal.

On Sept. 11 around 7:30 p.m., police were called by a concerned neighbour that Delorme and his girlfriend — who had a warrant out for her arrest — were “doing something with the Hydro.” There ended up being no charges for anything related to Hydro, but police did respond to the call. The couple were known to the RCMP. The girlfriend said Delorme was there, but police said he did not come to the door.

Police came back the next day when the concerned neighbour again called, this time to say the two were loading items into a pickup truck.

Officers find Delorme sitting in the truck outside the Grunthal home. The truck was stolen and the license plate did not match, so Delorme was arrested on scene.

An officer then knocked on the door of the residence on Pine Street to ask the girlfriend to come outside. The officer said as he knocked at the door, a pitbull approached. The officer then looked inside and saw a racoon running from the living room.

With concern for the girlfriend, police entered the home but could not find her. Animal control was called for the pitbull and racoon.

“Did they live there?” asked Judge Ray Wyant.

“I’m referring to Mr. Delorme, not the pitbull and the racoon,” clarified the judge.

The Crown responded she was not sure.

“Do you know why the vehicle had been stolen?” asked Judge Wyant.

The Crown responded that police did not say, but that they did find a collection of wigs in the truck.

Delorme was released again with the new charges.

Hiding in church B&E

His girlfriend Jolene Obara is co-accused in the next crime two weeks later, a break and enter of Winners Chapel International Winnipeg on Roblin Boulevard in Winnipeg.

The pastor called Winnipeg Police and provided them with video surveillance. It showed that on Sept. 26 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., Obara allegedly hid inside the church while it was open until the pastor left for the day.

Then police said she opened the door to allow Delorme and another co-accused inside. On the video, the three roam the hallways and eventually steal two TVs and leave.

Stills from the high-quality videos are released to the public. A CrimeStoppers tip leads police to identify Delorme and his co-accused, and a warrant is put out for their arrest.

Machete assault paintball defence

The next crime was the scariest crime for a Grunthal family.

On Oct. 22 before 6 a.m., St. Pierre RCMP were called to the home of a family of four. The mother on the phone said Delorme was in their yard threatening them with the machete.

RCMP arrived and learned from the family that Delorme and allegedly Obara came to their front yard around 5:30 a.m. The family dog woke up the father who said he scared the couple away. The family recognized Delorme but not Obara.

The couple then came back, Delorme carrying a machete this time.

The son of the family took out his paintball gun. Delorme started walking towards the son, who told Delorme to stay back.

When Delorme got closer, the son delivered multiple shots from the paintball gun into Delorme’s face. Delorme waved his machete but did not strike anyone.

The daughter filmed the end of the confrontation, which was given to police. It was after the paintball shots, but did show Delorme in the yard with the machete.

Delorme was arrested and released on Oct. 31, this time with a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew at an address in Arnaud, between St Malo and Dominion City.

Last straw

It takes less than three weeks before Delorme is caught red-handed and taken into custody, this time without getting bail.

It is 3 a.m. on Nov. 19 when Winkler Police find a suspicious truck in the rear parking lot of the RBC on Main Street. It resembles a truck involved in a trailer theft reported Nov. 16. The truck has two different license plates that do not match and it is confirmed to be stolen.

While the officers are checking things on scene, they hear a noise from the small alleyway nearby. An officer finds Delorme and Obara walking towards the officer. Police said Obara tried heading the other way, but stopped when told to.

The officer asked their names. They lied, calling themselves Ray and Jessica. They are arrested and keys to the truck are found in Delorme’s pocket, along with screwdrivers and pliers.

The warrant is still out for the break and enter to the church after Delorme was identified by a CrimeStoppers tip, plus he is charged for being out past his curfew.

Meth an “insidious” drug

The Crown asked for the year of jail and got it. The defence was hoping for time served and probation, but Judge Wyant said Delorme was lucky to get the sentence he got.

The judge listed every crime and explained how on their own, he would have given out higher sentences. But with the series of crimes meaning “proportionality and totality” must be considered in Canada’s legal system, Delorme received the year in custody plus 15 months probation.

Of the many things noted by the judge were the seriousness and planning of the break and enter to the church, the proliferation of machetes as a “weapon of choice,” the use of the paintball gun showing the fear felt by the Grunthal family, and Delorme’s “thumbing his nose” at court orders with his bail finally being denied when found with the stolen truck and trailer in front of a bank at 3 a.m. far from his curfew residence.

Delorme has been taking drug treatment programming while in custody. The judge acknowledged the effort, and commented on how direct the connection of addictive drug use was to a father suddenly becoming a criminal.

“Sadly, it’s what seems to drive most of the crime nowadays, and motivation for crime we see in the system; oftentimes violent crime by people so wacked out on drugs, particularly methamphetamine, so they do all sorts of very dangerous things.

“And we see many instances of random violence that have cause great personal injury if not death for people who are so much under the influence of methamphetamine that they’re psychotic and have little memory of what’s occurred once they come down from the effects of that particular drug,” said Judge Wyant during sentencing.

“It doesn’t excuse it, but it does amplify what an insidious drug methamphetamine is and how it is quickly destroying the fabric of society, causing such a rampant increase in violent crime and causing people like Mr. Delorme, who otherwise have led a productive life to then become involved in the justice system in such a significant way in his middle years.”

The judge repeated the long list of crimes before handing out his sentence and having Delorme taken back to jail.

“Society’s just had enough… and the courts have to respond to it,” said Judge Wyant.