REGINA – One of the city’s most popular skate apparel businesses says a pair of scammers ripped them off for thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.
In a surveillance video posted to the 306 Hip Hop Sk8 Shop’s Facebook page, a man and a woman in a wheelchair are seen entering the store in north Regina.
According to shop owner Andrew Hincks, the woman claimed she was ill and it was her “dying wish” to purchase something from 306, where her nephew had spent a lot of time at the indoor skate park.
“They had a sob story, saying she didn’t have much time left.”
Because the store is located in the basement, Hincks says he even helped lift the woman’s wheelchair up and down the stairs.
“They had a sob story, saying she didn’t have much time left,” Hincks said. “We made sure to accommodate her, even running to the canteen to grab her an ice cold water.”
It turns out, the story was a ruse. Instead, the video shows the couple shoplifting, using the chair and a backpack to take more than $1,000 worth of clothing. The man is seen taking something off a rack and placing it under the chair or in the backpack at least three times.
Items taken include jeans, a shirt and sweatpants, but the largest theft was a vintage Toronto Blue Jays Roberto Alomar jersey.
Hincks says it serves as a warning not to trust every customer through the door.
“Just to create knowledge in the community, especially among businesses, to look out for shady individuals in the community like this couple was,” he said.
“The boosters can team up, distract your employees and really create havoc for your bottom line.”
WATCH: Surveillance video shows shoplifters trick Regina skate shop
Hincks would like to recover the merchandise in mint condition, but says that rarely happens with shoplifters.
He hasn’t decided if he’ll report the theft to the Regina Police Service, but says police have called the store in the past after seeing similar incidents posted online.
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