Airdrie RCMP is investigating a theft at the Towerlane Shoppers Drug Mart on Sept. 6, and officers are asking for the public’s help to identify the subject from video surveillance photos,
Media Liaison for Airdrie RCMP Constable Jason Curtis said the suspect entered the store sometime in the afternoon on Sept. 6 and took an undisclosed number of men’s razors and electric toothbrushes off the shelves, put them in his backpack and left the store.
According to Curtis, the man’s actions were not detected by staff at the time, but were caught on video surveillance. Staff and RCMP examined the video tape once the theft was discovered a few hours later.
The man is described as Caucasian, in his 60s, bald with a medium build and a gray moustache. He was wearing a plaid newsboy’s cap and a lime green and gold shirt.
Attempted Fraud
The Shoppers Drug Mart at Kingsview Market on Yankee Valley Boulevard was also the victim of an attempted fraud on Sept. 12, according to RCMP.
Curtis said a man entered the store, picked out a video game console and attempted to pay with a fraudulent credit card.
“Basically, the store clerk was very attentive and ended up noticing something didn’t seem right so went to verify (the card)”, Curtis said. “At that point, the male quickly departed leaving the card behind.”
No one from Shoppers would comment on how their staff go about verifying credit cards by press time.
The RCMP described the man as “black,” in his late 20s, 5’7” tall with a medium build and a goatee. He was wearing a long-sleeved camouflage-patterned T-shirt, a black hat with a Brooklyn Nets basketball team logo and a feather pendant necklace.
Computer theft
According to Curtis, two suspects stole the detachable screen from a laptop computer from the Airdrie Staples store at Towerlane on Sept. 18, after cutting the security cable attaching the screen to the display stand.
Curtis said staff did not see the men steal the laptop screen but once it was discovered missing later that day, called RCMP who checked the video surveillance footage.
The theft occurred at 1:30 p.m.
The surveillance video shows one of the men putting the screen down his pants before leaving the store with his accomplice, according to Curtis.
The first man is described as Caucasian, in his 20s with a slight build. He had short dark hair and was clean shaven. He was wearing a black hat, aviator sunglasses and a multi-coloured shirt with eagles on the shoulders.
The second man is described as Caucasian, in his 30s with a medium build. He was wearing a black hat and a gray sweater. He also had short dark hair and was clean shaven.
“We’re looking for any assistance the public can give us to identify these individuals,” Curtis said.
Public very helpful
“We’ve had a number of identifications and received information from the public recently,” Curtis added.
“The public has been very, very helpful so we’ve been having some excellent success lately.”
One of those successes, according to Curtis, has been the identification of a man wanted in connection with the theft of a $600 Dyson vacuum cleaner from the Costco near CrossIron Mills mall in Balzac on July 30.
“We have issued a warrant for Stefan Alexander Lojek, 33,” Curtis said.
“His last known residence was Edmonton. There’s a warrant for his arrest for Theft under $5,000. A big, big thank you to the citizens of Airdrie who helped us identify this individual.”
If you have any information on any crime, call the Airdrie RCMP detachment at 403-945-7200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
