A St. John’s small business owner is shocked after two nearly identical thefts at his Forest Road convenience store within three days.
On Monday and Wednesday, in two separate incidents, men walked into Shalimar Convenience during broad daylight without their faces concealed, grabbed two dozen beer and swiftly walked out of the store without paying.
“He just took beer, but what if someone comes again with a knife or something?”
-Store clerk Bishnu Adhikari
Storeowner Imran Dar hopes the surveillance footage photos posted online will lead to arrests.
“The population of this city is small, it’s not difficult to identify the person,” Dar said, adding he is “desperate and frustrated,” so he thought if he put the photos online it might help to prevent these men from stealing again in the future.
In both instances, the men are described as white males, possibly in their 20s.
In Monday’s theft, the thief is described as wearing a baseball hat, hoodie and jeans, and was of average build.
In Wednesday’s theft, the thief is described as wearing a stocking hat, blue jeans and a black jacket with white stripes that appeared to be Adidas brand. He had brown hair and some facial hair, and had a medium build.
The man who stole from the store on Wednesday also looked a lot like another man who was involved in Monday’s incident. On Monday, a man held open the door for the man who stole the beer, and they both ran toward Quidi Vidi Lake.
The man who held the door on Monday could potentially be the same person who stole beer again on Wednesday.
Irtiza Dar, Imran’s son, was working Monday shortly before 6 p.m. when the men stole the beer.
“I ran after them to Quidi Vidi Lake,” said Irtiza, noting he was angry that the men stole from his father’s store and he wanted to catch them.
“It’s hard to make money as it is,” he said.
However, one of the men told him to stop or he will get hurt. Irtiza said the man had his hand in his pocket — he didn’t know if the man had some kind of weapon, so he returned to the store.
“I just hope that they get caught because the same thing happened Wednesday. I was shocked. I was like, ‘Whoa, it was only, like, a day since that happened.’ So, it’s hard to understand. One is enough.”
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This is the second theft Irtiza has witnessed. The other happened when he worked at a different convenience store.
However, Irtiza said he is not scared to continue working.
“This road is very safe, generally,” he said.
The woman who was working during the second theft, on Wednesday around 2 p.m., said she doesn’t feel so confident.
“It made me feel very scared, like maybe some other day someone will come again,” said Bishnu Adhikari, a student at Memorial University who also works about 25 hours per week at the store.
“He just took beer, but what if someone comes again with a knife or something?”
On Friday afternoon, Adhikari was working when a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer came to get copies of the surveillance footage.
She hopes that between the public seeing the photos online and the investigation by the police, the men will be caught.
“I just want everyone to be safe,” she said.
These thefts came only a few months after the store was held up on Jan. 12 by a man who took cash and beer, and then sprayed the clerk with bear spray.
Imran Dar said that assailant was never found. He said police told him they were unable to identify the robber, despite the fact he was wearing clothing that could have identified him.
While the armed robber covered his face, this week’s incidents involved thieves who made no attempt to conceal their identities, so Imran hopes the police will be able to find them.
“Besides the safety and security of my employees, being a businessman, I just want to let you know that financially, two dozen beer means I have to sell all week all of the beer to get the cost of two dozen back.”
Twitter: juanitamercer_
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