A rash of break-ins has local businesses wondering when and how to make it stop, while also trying to figure out who is behind it all.
Recent news of Zenetec Collision Repair Centre and St. Onge Recreation being broken into has brought to light other businesses having the same issue.
At Zenetec, located on 247 Tiffin St., general manager William Monteith told BarrieToday that he knows of approximately eight other businesses in the area that have also faced damage and theft.
“Yeah, it's not just us, that’s for sure,” said Monteith. “All of the businesses, with the exception of St. Onge, are auto-repair companies and it seems to be in the area of Anne Street from Dunlop to Tiffin, so clearly someone in this part of the city.
"This is very sporadic and rare and we’ve not seen anything like this in ... I can’t remember when, but even this is obviously unacceptable and we need this guy or guys caught," he added.
At about 11:30 p.m., on Monday, Aug. 13, a thief was at Zenetec for approximately an hour and a half and went through 13 vehicles, smashing windows as he went and looking for valuables.
The second occurrence was three days later when staff came into work to find another six cars damaged.
The family business has been in Barrie since 1992 and has a loyal customer base, but the call to tell those customers about the damage is obviously frustrating for both the owners and Monteith.
Monteith hopes the footage he has provided will be enough to track down the suspect and he knows the police are doing their job, but has a problem with what happens after that.
“I was very angry the first time and sick to my stomach the second time,” he said. “There has been some talk of the group of businesses who have been affected hiring some security for the area, but I feel it’s one person and that’s the police’s responsibility not ours.
"I think between us all, we pay a lot of money in property taxes and that is their job to catch a one-off person," Monteith added. "That said, I do know that the police can only do so much and I feel the biggest problem is the justice system. I’m hearing they could arrest the guy today and he won't even spend the night in jail and we’ve got three hours of $30,000 worth of damage.
"Don’t tell me there’s nothing that can be done.”
Just a few blocks away at 65 Hart Dr., Joe Racco at St. Onge Recreation is also frustrated with the recent break-ins.
The sales manager has been with the sports and recreation company for 20 years and is glad they have updated security.
“On Wednesday at approximately 2 a.m., three guys came in and rummaged through the backyard and started scavenging parts off of boats for scrap metal,” Racco told BarrieToday. “They grabbed a jet pump, which was worth $2,500, and walked away with that.
"Two nights later, one of the same guys from the Wednesday (incident) came back with a different person and stole a bunch of old batteries and cashed them in at The Battery House for $279," he added. "There was no vehicle that we could see, but we caught them on camera just walking in with backpacks the first night and just loading them up.
"We have new technology that we installed and fortunately we were able to get good visuals of the second thefts.”
Racco said he did receive encouragement this morning when he spoke with Barrie police officers and found out that one suspects had been arrested and the hope is his partners in crime won’t be too far behind.
“I believe he’s spilling the beans on the other guy, so they’re going to get caught, it's just a matter of time,” said Racco. “In today’s day and age, with the technology and social media, you can’t hide, especially considering its probably someone with a record and the cops are going to see who it is.”
No one knows who the thieves are or why they’re committing the crimes, but there are always theories. Racco knows that trying to figure it out on his own is pointless, but it doesn’t stop him from guessing.
“Right now, what’s going on, and I can only assume, is that you’ve got all the people living in Tent City right down the street here and they’ve got nothing to lose,” said Racco. “I think it's like five acres worth of bush and they don’t care and they don’t have anything to lose. It's all within a five-block area of walking, it's all quick and easy, and they do more damage than what they get. They steal a $2,500 part and maybe get $50 in aluminum.
"For us, you can’t claim insurance because the more you claim through insurance the higher your premiums until the point that they don’t insure you as a business," he added. "Two months ago, we had three Sea-Doos and two trailers stolen and it was $50,000 and we didn’t claim that. It came right out of our pocket.
"There are consequences and people suffer because of these thefts.”
On George Street, Gaunt Auto was also hit, but it was minor damage compared to the others.
John Gaunt says he had a car broken into, but so far nothing has been reported as missing. He isn’t sure who would do it and although his property backs on to Tent City, he doesn’t see it being anyone there.
“I don’t know and I’m not an expert, but I just feel like they’re not going to draw too much attention to themselves,” said Gaunt. “They’re loud and you see them walking back there all hours of the day, but I’m just not sure it was anyone there and, of course, you don’t want to accuse without knowing.”
Barrie police Const. Nicole Rodgers told BarrieToday that a 32-year-old Barrie man was arrested in the St. Onge battery theft, but stresses that, at this time, there is no link between the recreation vehicle company and the other auto repair businesses.
“We did take into custody a 32-year-old male and that investigation is ongoing,” said Rodgers. “There is a difference between the St. Onge theft and the other eight or nine businesses who experienced mischief, as we call it.
"While all are bad, they are different in nature and are being investigated as such with an open mind," she added.
For anyone frustrated as to how so many businesses could be hit in such a short time without police catching on, Rodgers explains just how complicated it is to make a link to some crimes right away.
“In the case of the auto-repair companies, it isn’t a situation where we see that immediate area right away,” Rodgers told BarrieToday. “In most cases, the shop will have the owner of the vehicle call in the damage and/or theft as it is the owner of the vehicle who handles that.
"Since that’s how it is reported, we will accumulate multiple reports from different addresses around the city instead of the businesses in the same vicinity. It's how it is usually put in the system, but we can say it is being investigated now."
