The furniture section of the Salvation Army store on Tranquille
Image Credit: Kamloops Salvation Army Facebook page
February 03, 2015 - 10:10 AM
KAMLOOPS – Monday morning’s break and enter at the Salvation Army Thrift Store will cost the charity more than a window replacement after a suspect cut herself on the glass and bled over several items throughout the store.
“Anything with blood had to be disposed of,” Manager Sally Magee says. “You name it she was through everything in the whole store.”
The store was closed all of Monday so staff could clean up the glass and throw away items covered in blood, which included bags of clothes and several other items for sale.
Magee says four pieces of furniture were also damaged and will cost the store extra to take them to the dump.
“For the furniture it’s going to take from 10 to 20 dollars apiece to take away,” she says.
Magee has not determined the specific amount the crime will cost the store but already expects a strain on the budget through window replacement costs, dumping fees and the price to install two new security cameras.
“When we have a loss like this it’s a chain reaction in the city. Every cent we make (after employee pay and rent) goes right back into community services,” she says.
When police arrested the female suspect, Magee says she was clutching an L-shaped metal bar which she thinks may have been used to break the window.
This is the second break and enter for the store on Tranquille Road. Previously, Magee says a suspect used a big rock to break through a window to gain access. The location suffered even more loses when a fire broke out last summer.
Nikita Rejean Ferguson, born 1986, is charged with break and enter with intent to commit an offense. She was released on a $1,000 bail surety Feb. 3.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca or call 250-319-7494. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
-This story was updated at 1:19 p.m., Feb. 3, to update information on Ferguson's release.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015