Timothy Joseph Dafoe has a long history of cycling in and out of jail. (file photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

drug related crime

Man sentenced for break-ins and thefts from Nanoose Bay homes

Nov 24, 2025 | 5:35 AM

NANAIMO — A man who used his house cleaning business as a front to steal valuables from Oceanside-area homes late last year avoided a custodial jail sentence.

Timothy Joseph Dafoe, 41, entered guilty pleas at provincial court in Nanaimo on Friday Nov. 21 to break-in charges after three Nanoose Bay homes were impacted last Dec. 11.

The break-and-enters took place at a pair of Craig Dr. homes, as well as a nearby Beaver Creek Wharf Rd. home.

A pair of local neighbours assisted Oceanside RCMP, leading to Dafoe’s arrest and the recovery of numerous pieces of jewelry, including bracelets and earrings.

Tim Dafoe has an extensive criminal history for property crimes throughout the mid-Island area. (Oceanside RCMP)

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In one incident, Dafoe asked to use the washroom of a victim’s home, who grew suspicious after he was in the washroom for an extended period.

Three pieces of jewelry were stolen by Dafoe from the bathroom, an agreed statement of facts outlined by Crown counsel’s Leanne Mascolo heard.

She said many of the stolen items from the three homes have been returned; however she didn’t have an estimated value of the items swiped.

Dafoe was in custody between the Dec. 11 offence date and March 7 when he was granted bail.

He was transferred from Nanaimo Correctional Centre to Victoria-based New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community where he remains.

Mascolo said continuous rehabilitation efforts by Dafoe over the last several months were instrumental in forming a non-custodial sentence recommendation.

“It is a significant break for Mr. Dafoe given the work that he’s done.”

Just three days before the Nanoose Bay break-ins, Dafoe overdosed on a cocktail of opioids, requiring life-saving intervention from Oceanside RCMP to revive the unconscious addict with naloxone.

Dafoe attended the sentencing hearing virtually through a video feed from the Victoria residential treatment centre where he can reside for up to two years.

Defence attorney Ryan Drury told his client’s sentencing hearing that Dafoe was entrenched in addiction at the time of his offending.

“He gets this business up and running when he’s in a sober state…But what occurs for him is he suffers a relapse and then these become crimes of opportunity at that point.”

Drury told court Dafoe grew up in the mid Island area in an unstable, biker household which included drug use.

Dafoe started drinking alcohol at the age of 10 and was living on the streets at just 13-years-old, Drury said.

The offender first met his since deceased father while the pair were incarcerated at the federal Mission Institution.

“For a very lengthy period of his life there’s been periods of short-lived sobriety, followed by incarceration and homelessness; rinse, repeat,” Drury told court.

According to the defence counsel, Dafoe has gained insight into his offending and is currently working full-time in the Victoria construction industry for a company aware of his recovery journey.

In exchange for his guilty pleas, charges in connection to a pair of residential break-ins in Parksville and another in Qualicum Beach were dropped by Crown counsel.

A jointly formed sentence recommendation accepted by judge Ronald Lamperson features a two-year Conditional Sentence Order, followed by one-year probation.

Numerous court-ordered conditions are attached to Dafoe while under the court’s watch for the next three years, including counselling provisions, and abstaining from illicit drugs and alcohol.

His living arrangements must be approved by his probation officer.

Court heard Dafoe intends to put down roots and remain in the Victoria area.

Judge Lamperson acknowledged the work Dafoe has done this year to obtain the reduced sentence.

“You could have any lawyer in the world, and it wouldn’t make a difference, you made the difference.”

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