CALGARY- Police called on the public Monday to help locate a man wanted in a string of poppy box thefts.
More than 10 poppy boxes have been stolen around Calgary since the start of November.
Dwayne Shane Soroka, 31, is wanted in connection to at least five of the thefts.
Police described Soroka as Caucasian, 6’2″ tall, clean-shaven, bald and with a medium-to-heavy build.
Police said as of Monday the investigation was still ongoing, and asked anyone with information about Soroka to call police or Crime Stoppers.
Poppy boxes have been stolen from various retail locations around Calgary.
Another incident happened at a Subway restaurant in Valleyfield on Friday, said officers Saturday.
The man walked into the restaurant on 25th St. southeast around 8 p.m.
He grabbed the tub of cash and fled the store.
The suspect in this theft was described as a male in his 30s, 6 feet tall with a slim build and wearing a black hoodie and jeans.
That theft followed two others at liquor stores on opposite ends of the city.
- Calgary fatal stabbing victim ‘gave himself’ to help those fleeing war in Ukraine
- Alberta introduces legislation to reduce high power-bill fee surcharge for Calgarians
- Innovative nursing education: Mannequins lead the way in Alberta
- Calgary police looking for suspect in March southeast hotel homicide
The first incident happened at Bow Liquor. The owner of the store said he ran after the man, but was only able to scratch down the license plate as the culprit fled the scene.
A man matching his description was caught on camera stealing another poppy box from City Liquor across the city.
The man responsible for the security cameras at Bow Liquor said Friday that he doesn’t understand why anyone would steal from veterans.
“I don’t even have words to express how it bothers me,” said Don Kirkland.
Kirkland’s grandfather fought in World War II and he says he has always been proud of him.
“We don’t appreciate what they went through; we don’t appreciate what they gave up for us,” he said Friday about the poppy fund. “We need to take care of them and that’s what this does in a small way.”
“Each year it shocks me, for a number of reasons, but there are two reasons people commit poppy thefts,” Chief Rick Hanson said Friday.
“The second one, that is a lot sadder, is that there are people out there in the community that suffer from addiction issues and will do anything, literally.”
For their part, Calgarians have told Global News they won’t be deterred by the thefts and that they’ll continue to donate.
Comments