Vancouver drone store fights back after brazen robberies (with videos)
By Cheryl Chan, The Province September 14, 2015 8:44 PM
Drones Plus in Kitsilano said it is releasing security camera footage of the incidents in the hopes it helps catch the thieves and deter future attempts.
A Vancouver drone store that has been hit by thieves three times in the last two weeks is fighting back.
Drones Plus in Kitsilano said it is releasing security camera footage of the incidents in the hopes it helps catch the thieves and deter future attempts.
“There’s been a series of really brazen crimes against our drone store,” said
Bryan Micon, head of loss prevention for the Las Vegas-based chain, on Monday. “We have become accustomed to viewing these on our security cams.”
Drones Plus opened the doors of its W. 4th Ave. store, between Burrard and Pine Streets, less than two months ago. But it’s already been the target of two robberies and one failed attempt.
In the first incident, a man came into the store on Sept. 1 and asked an employee to use the phone. He made a fake call to a voice mail box, said Micon. Video footage appears to show him reaching out for the employee’s wallet on the counter, rifling through it, then casually pocketing it.
Two days later, at around 1:30 a.m., two thieves broke into the store through the back entrance of an adjacent unit that was under construction and made off with $15,000 in inventory before fleeing on bikes, said Micon.
Security footage showed two masked individuals stuffing black garbage bags with equipment as an alarm blared in the background. The incident lasted barely 30 seconds.
The most recent incident, which occurred at around 5 a.m. Sunday, was also recorded by security cameras. The footage shows a white car ramming the store’s front door. But the newly-installed security bars held firm, said Micon, and the thwarted thieves — a man and a woman, according to witnesses — abandoned their scheme and took off on foot.
break in this time. They did not get any of the inventory.”
Micon said the company has reported all three incidents to police.
Vancouver police have not responded to The Province’s request for comment on the alleged incident on Tuesday.
Drones Plus has recorded six robberies or robbery attempts across its 12 stores in the U.S. and Canada since it opened about last summer, including two in Las Vegas, one in Los Angeles and three in Vancouver.
While the man in the first incident went after an employee’s wallet, the second and third incidents targeted the drones, which are growing in popularity, particularly among recreational users. The thieves have gone after the consumer-grade models, which range in price from $1,000 to $3,000, said Micon.
“They’re relatively high-priced items,” he said. “Because they’re so hot, I think we’re getting targeted.”
Micon said the company decided to release the video footage in order to make potential thieves think twice about breaking and entering.
“We want to show that we will record and publicize all criminal activity against us,” he said, adding the store plans to install new security measures that could help authorities catch future thieves.
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Originally Posted by Dan Druff
