Attempted machete robbery convict found guilty of stealing, selling school’s computers

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This article was published 14/12/2017 (2317 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former Winnipeg high school computer technician has been convicted of stealing electronics and selling them in parking lots.

Kim Lazaruk was convicted of theft over $5,000 this week for stealing Sisler High School’s laptops and advertising them for sale on an online classifieds site.

The thefts happened over the course of a year starting in February 2014, when Lazaruk was working at the school, had access to the computers and their serial numbers, and was tasked with keeping an inventory of the school’s electronics.

Lazaruk would go on to attempt robbery while armed with a machete in November 2015. He was convicted and sentenced to a prison term last year, after being shot by one of the security officers he tried to rob outside a bank on Keewatin Street.

Before that incident, Lazaruk had stolen thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment from Sisler, later admitting he would advertise the electronics on Kijiji and, if he had a buyer, he’d steal the item. Video surveillance from the Shaughnessy Park neighbourhood school showed Lazaruk carting computer boxes from the IT room where he worked.

Court heard Lazaruk would put the boxes into a Dumpster and return later to retrieve the computers he’d hidden inside.

In a statement to police, which was eventually ruled admissible in the fall after his trial, Lazaruk estimated he stole 30 laptops and made between $9,000 and $10,000.

“He admits he was desperate for money and when he needed cash he would advertise items for sale, and if he had a buyer, he would take the item and exchange it for cash. He described doing this over the course of the year, sometimes every couple weeks, sometimes every couple days. He explained he used the money to survive,” Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Lori Spivak said as she delivered her verdict Dec. 12.

The school estimated up to 99 devices had gone missing, including Apple and Dell computers, iPads, camera equipment and projectors. The judge said she was left with reasonable doubt about how many items Lazaruk actually stole, but believed the total value of the stolen goods was at least more than $5,000.

Police caught up with him after they traced the serial number on a stolen MacBook Pro to a registered user whose mother had bought the computer for him. The sale took place in a Superstore parking lot for $750.

Lazaruk also admitted making a sale in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven convenience store. His email address and phone number were linked to several Kijiji ads for computer equipment.

He is set to be sentenced sometime next year.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay