Articles by Michael Potestio

Technology

Kamloops mayor's beleaguered business broken into for third time in three months (Kamloops)

Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson’s downtown business has been broken into for a third time in the past three months — a wave of crime the mayor says is unprecedented in his time on West Victoria Street. The mayor told Castanet Kamloops he discovered the latest break-in to his auto dealership at 260 West Victoria St. on Wednesday. He believes it occurred within the previous 48 hours. He said a side door that had been barricaded from the inside was smashed open for the third time, and this time the burglars stole furniture and tools from inside. The mayor’s business, Tru Market, was thoroughly ransacked in July, with numerous items smashed and the place left trashed. He said aside from some cheques, keys and camera equipment that appeared to have been stolen, little else was missing. Another burglary and fire caused further damage to the property in early September. Multiple windows have also been broken on other occasions, Hamer-Jackson said, and they have been boarded up. “A big rock is sitting right on the seat in one office,” he said. 'This is very unusual' The building remains in tatters since the first break-in, and has been shuttered for years. The mayor has the property listed for sale in an effort to help cover legal bills. The mayor said he’s never experienced such a rash of crime. Hamer-Jackson’s business has been the target of vandalism in the past, both before and after he was elected the top official at city hall. He previously described the July vandalism as the worst he’s ever experienced. He said he would often see damage done to vehicles on his property in years past when he maintained displays on his lot, but did not experience this level of vandalism to the building itself. “This is very unusual,” Hamer-Jackson said, adding he wonders if someone put somebody up to the job. “You don’t go into a building, completely thrash it from one end to the other and not take a lot of things.” Mayor on the case Hamer-Jackson said he filed a police report about the most recent burglary, but he hasn’t heard back from Mounties about the other two. “I haven't heard anything,” he said. Castanet Kamloops has asked RCMP for additional information. The mayor, meanwhile, has a lead of his own. He said he was contacted by someone who tried to cash one of the stolen cheques from the first break-in. It bounced because it was connected to an inactive account. After talking to that person, Hamer-Jackson said he hopes to track down the person who gave him the cheque. He said a neighbouring business has security footage showing a person exiting his building during one of the previous break-ins, but the individual was wearing a hoodie and couldn't be identified. The mayor noted that the city’s marginalized population continue to frequent his property, and he has told them to move along. Hamer-Jackson said the incident bolsters the case he is trying to make for an audit of local BC Housing facilities, two of which are located across the street from Tru Market.