NEW BRUNSWICK COMPUTER SERVER STOLEN FROM COMMUNITY CENTER canadaeast.com - DG Top Photo
$10,000-$12,000 loss
Theft hits facility that feeds the poor
Community Kitchen loses much-needed food gift certificates and cash in robbery

Fredericton's Community Kitchen is appealing to the public to help track down the thief or thieves who made off with grocery store gift certificates, security camera equipment and cash in a weekend robbery.

George Piers, executive director of the Fredericton Community Kitchen, said the break-in happened between Saturday evening and early Sunday morning. The operation's safe was cracked open and $1,100 Superstore and $2,200 Sobeys grocery certificates were stolen, along with $50 and some $2 coins.

"That's what we had in the safe, thinking everything was secure," he said.

Piers got a tip Tuesday that two men were trying to sell the gift certificates downtown.

The tip was reported to police, but plainclothes officers couldn't nab the duo.

"We are still looking into it," said police spokeswoman Const. Bobbi Simmons.

"This is basically stealing from every person that walks through that door," Piers said Tuesday as clients of the community kitchen sat down to a hot lunch.

"I had planned on going and buying coffee with that this morning. Now we've got to find money to go and buy coffee."

The grocery store coupons - which the stores provide to the food bank monthly based on the $2 donation coupons that both stores sell to customers at their checkout counters - were intended to purchase milk and meat.

Piers said all he can do now is try to juggle things around to cover off essentials and hope to rely on the public goodwill.

Building locks had to be changed and the building's security system - including cameras, a monitor and computer server - will have to be replaced.

Piers estimated total losses at somewhere between $10,000 and $12,000.

Worse still, Piers believes that whomever committed the robbery knew the building or gathered information from those familiar with the layout.

The crooks probably hid in a closet just outside the door leading into the community kitchen waiting for the cook to leave on Saturday evening, Piers believes.

From the closet, they would have had access to the inside wall of the food kitchen where they cut out the gyproc wall to squeeze through the wall, into the kitchen and dining hall area and open the entry door to the centre from the inside.

A review of a set of security tapes at the commissionaire's office indicates that a person left the building shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday carrying the monitor, server and cameras.

"The same person came back at 12:01 a.m. and left at 2:14 a.m. on the Sunday," Piers said.

"During those two hours, they must have been breaking into the safe. It probably took them that length of time to break into the safe. They pried the door off," Piers said.

Cameras mounted on the wall of the kitchen's food storage area were torn down. Where the computer server and monitor should have been, the crooks placed a cardboard file storage box.

Piers said the thief or thieves tried to cut a green extension cord before they realized they could simply remove the camera monitor.

"I figure somebody could have burned fingers," he said.

Piers said he's just thankful that the centre did a bank deposit on Friday.

"The other thing that's missing is our mat. They probably did that to remove footprints," Piers said.

Just changing the locks on doors in the building cost $500 because Piers's spare keys were stolen.

The only consolation is that glass jars of preserves, canned goods and dry food products weren't damaged or torn open, Piers said.

If anyone has any information regarding the theft, contact police at 460-2300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).