‘They took it all’
Thieves ransack business, resulting in up to $150,000 in losses
SYDNEY — Thieves broke into a Sydney business and not only made off with truckloads of equipment but stripped the building itself clean of all the doors, shelves, flooring, pipes, wiring, emptied the oil tank and even took the bathroom sink.
Paul Aucoin, owner of Vic Aucoin’s Electric Ltd., said the thieves not only stole a massive amount of electrical supplies from their storage building but also stripped the building clean causing massive damage and although he’s still calculating the loss, estimates it to be between $100,000 and $150,000.
“What they did in there, well, it’s almost at tearing it down instead of fixing it,” Aucoin said. “I was baffled. How could someone on Prince Street do something like this and not get seen?”
The electrical business is located on Dorchester Street but the company has owned this 6,000 square-foot building on Prince Street in Sydney for about 30 years. The business rents out the storefront and used the back end and entire second floor as storage.
At one time an internet café was located at the front, then a used furniture store and later Walcam Communications.
Aucoin said although they used it for warehouse reasons the building was well maintained, and someone could have moved into the front end right away.
He figured culprits broke in between May 18 and May 22. The crime was discovered about a week or so ago. Aucoin came into Sydney to go to a meeting and when he came around the side of the building, noticed the door open.
“There were no door jams and doors on the inside,” he said.
Late for his meeting, he left and then came right back and called the police.
That’s when he toured the building and realized the extent of the theft and damage. The alarm system had been cut and the front door kicked open.
Not only were all the inside doors gone, but the frames and trim. Laminate flooring was pulled right off the floor. Plywood and two-byfour shelving around the whole perimeter of the building were gone.
“They took it all,” Aucoin said. “I felt just like someone would feel if someone broke into their home. Anything of value they took.”
Even the bathroom vanity and sink were pulled from the walls.
“We think there were numerous truckloads over different evenings,” he said. “There was too much done for it to have been one night.”
THEFT WAS EXTENSIVE
An extensive list of stolen property includes pipe and copper from the furnace, $10,000 worth of Rigid threading gear, power heads, two industrial transformers, one four-by-four wood crate
filled with air box items, small wire coils, electrical breakers, laminate flooring, six interior doors and frames, sinks, cast iron radiators, cupboards, copper from within the walls, two GMC 2500 tailgates, a six-foot step ladder, wiring from industrial lights and wood shelving.
It’s believed several people were involved as two transformers were also taken, weighing more than 900 pounds each.
Meanwhile, Aucoin said he couldn’t understand why culprits did what they did but said officers on the scene knew.
“COVID kicked in and the price of lumber went up,” he said. “Why buy it when you can steal it?”
CULPRITS RANSACKED BUILDING
During a tour of the building Tuesday afternoon, Travis Wilson, project manager and estimator for Vic Aucoin's Electric Ltd., pointed out a second-floor window in the front of the building where it’s believed thieves were dropping items from onto a truck as the window was found opened and there were piles of electrical cables and construction lights, with all the wiring cut out.
He pointed out an electrical breaker on the floor valued at $10,000. Culprits smashed it.
“What they couldn’t take they destroyed," he said.
After Aucoin noticed the break-in, he called Wilson to come down, not knowing if someone could still be in the building
“I was shocked,” Wilson said when he saw the extent of the massive theft and damage. Wilson had been there three or four days prior to the crime getting some supplies.
“They obviously worked quick and got a lot of material out of here in a few days.”
Some of the electrical items were older ones but he said some grocery stores and other businesses still use these parts so they were vital parts of their stock.
“Everything was neat and tidy on shelves, culprits also pulled things off shelving they didn’t want and took the shelves,” he said. "They ransacked all the rooms.”
There were also three brand new tailgates stored in the building that were taken, tools and a welder.
There is a clue Wilson said, adding a neighbouring business did see individuals and trucks around the building a couple of evenings.
“He just assumed they were working for us, never thought anything about it,” he added.
The Cape Breton Regional Police say the crime is under investigation. Anyone with any information is asked to contact police at 902-5635151 or Crime Stoppers, 902562-8477.