A Halifax bar had two framed jerseys, signed by two hometown hockey heroes, stolen right off the wall in a brazen theft — just as the pair of NHLers aim to win gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins and Nathan MacKinnon Colorado Avalanche jerseys were prominently displayed at Big League’s Brew Pub in Bayer’s Lake.
Natalie Langley, the pub’s general manager, said the jerseys were hung with pride.
“Those jerseys were put there very specifically by the owner, Jamie Latter, to represent our boys. We have another location in Cole Harbour that’s been there almost 40 years. Sidney has visited numerous occasions,” she said.
“We hung them for everybody to see when they walked through those doors. To show our pride and our loyalty to our community.”
The thieves made off with the prized possessions on Tuesday night, about half an hour before closing.
Bartender and server, Kylie Cholock, said it was a “slower” night and it was just her and a couple staff members in the kitchen at the time.
“I sat down at the bar to eat my dinner, and I heard the door open, and then I heard it open again (…) I get up, and turn around and look, and I see them grabbing the pictures off the wall, or the jerseys. So then I just started running,” she said.
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“I just kind of ran after them and then I yelled at them, but they drove away really fast.”
Langley said Cholock called her in tears, saying a man in a ski mask had just robbed the bar.
“So, we immediately bring up our cameras that we have on our phone, we have the app, and we watch the video of it happening from a couple different angles,” said Langley.
“You can see them pull in. They drive down to see if there’s a lot of people in here or not, and then they back in and put a ski mask on.“
Security camera footage from outside the bar shows a grey-coloured SUV pulling into the empty parking lot and backing slowly up to the door.
A man wearing a mask can be seen getting out of the passenger side and entering the building. He comes out carrying the first framed jersey — MacKinnon’s — and carefully places it in the trunk.
He then takes the time to go back inside and brings out Crosby’s Penguin’s jersey. After sticking it in the trunk, the suspect rushes into the SUV, which makes a quick getaway.
Halifax Regional Police spokesperson Const. Martin Cromwell confirmed police are investigating the theft, and noted there were no reports of threats or physical injuries during the crime.
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But Langley said she and staff are shaken up by the crime.
“The ski mask really upset us. It shook us because anytime somebody comes into your place of work or anywhere with a ski mask on, it changes the dynamic of your safety,” she said.
Langley said she feels the theft was carefully planned since the jerseys, which are authenticated and valued at $2,000 each, were screwed into the wall. She wonders if the thieves had come in previously to loosen the screws.
And with the Canadian men’s hockey looking to win their semifinal game against Finland on Friday before hopefully playing for goal on Sunday, Langley believes the suspects were looking to make a quick buck.
“I think because of who (Crosby and MacKinnon) are and what’s about to happen, if they can (win) gold, the price of those are going to go up. The value of those jerseys are going to go up for sure,” she said.
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