A Guelph business has been forced to close due to damage from a break-in that was caught on camera.
Juliann McArthur, the owner of Freshii on Gordon Street, says the culprit caused about $100,000 in damage Wednesday night.
“Not only was it a robbery, but also a severe act of vandalism,” she said.
Security footage shows a man sneaking in behind a delivery man who had the door propped open for an after hours drop off.
He is seen locking up afterwards with what seems like no idea someone was still inside.
McArthur believes the man was hiding in the bathroom and then scaled the wall to get into the ceiling. This was done so as not to trip the motion sensors.
The culprit already had a crowbar on him.
He was able to get his hands on more than $2,000 from the safe and cash tills as well as some iPads.
“He started kicking the door to try and get out when he could have simply just turned the lock,” said McArthur.
Footage shows the man finally using a stool and a chair to break the window in his escape.
Guelph Police say witnesses saw him run towards Wellington Street.
“[He’s described as a] white man wearing a reflective jacket,” said Cst. Michael Gatto. “He did have a backpack on.”
McArthur adds that her and her husband have had to dump all the merchandise in the store in case of contamination.
She says that the incident has been hard to handle, but the community has been supportive and visiting the other Freshii location she owns.
“Something like this is a huge invasion of your privacy,” she said. “It makes something you consider a safe place not so safe anymore.”
McArthur hopes to open the Gordon Street Freshii in two to three weeks.
She says her and her husband have had to dump all the merchandise in the store in case of contamination.
