Chronic offender back in jail after arrest by VPD

A chronic offender with more than 115 previous convictions faces more charges after Vancouver Police arrested him for allegedly stealing nearly $40,000 in fine art from a South Granville gallery.

VPD officers made the arrest Saturday, after the art gallery owner called 9-1-1 to report that a known thief had walked in and stolen a pricey piece of art.

"Our officers responded quickly, reviewed security video, and immediately recognized the suspect," says Sergeant Steve Addison. "The thief had fled prior to our arrival, but the officers drove to his home in East Vancouver, waited for him, and arrested him when he arrived home carrying the stolen art."

Investigators later executed a search warrant and recovered a second piece of art, which had been stolen from the same store the day prior.

Francis Boivin, 50, has been charged with two counts of theft over $5,000 and was due in court today.