Suspect In Laptop Theft Arrested
Posted May 13, 2010 1:06 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto police have arrested a 35-year-old Barrie man wanted in the theft of a laptop from a local cancer centre.
On Thursday morning, one day after issuing a warrant for his arrest, detectives took Bradley Warford into custody. He faces charges of break-and-enter and breach of parole.
“[The detectives] knew the area he was hanging out in. They saw Mr. Warford, noticed his tattoos and arrested him,” Det. Steve Smith said Thursday.
“There’s a sense of relief for everyone. [The story] touched the hearts of everyone in Toronto and all the officers in 51 Division.”
The laptop belonged to Teresa Solta, a Winnipeg woman who was visiting her father at the Princess Margaret Hospital Lodge on Sunday when the alleged incident happened. Laurence Michalski, 89, is a patient there undergoing treatment for lung cancer.
While Solta and Michalski were in the lobby, Warford allegedly entered Michalski’s room and stole the laptop, which contained hundreds of photos of Solta’s 17-year-old daughter, who died of cancer earlier this year.
“Pictures of the prom she went to last year, pictures of her giving speeches, pictures of her being silly and having fun – all of it. It’s her life,” Solta said.
Police recovered the computer Wednesday evening, but it had been wiped clean. The family now hopes John Riddell – a data recovery expert who offered to help – will be able to retrieve the photos.
“It’s going to [take] three different engineers to get to the end result [where] we have data that’s going to give back,” Riddell explained.
“This kind of problem, we’re looking at about 80 or 90 per cent success.”
Riddell will have the results Friday.
