A 17-year-old boy from Spruce Grove has been charged with several offences after a break and enter at an Edmonton-based military surplus store and hunting gear store.
SEBARMS was broken into Sunday after already being targeted by a robber last March.
READ MORE: 6 deactivated guns stolen from Edmonton army surplus store
The owner of the store told Global News the latest break and enter happened at around 3 a.m. Sunday.
Edmonton police confirmed the break-in at 11569-149 St. NW and said Monday an arrest had been made.
Owner Jim Osadczuk said the whole incident was caught on security footage, which he gave to investigators.
He said Sunday’s break-in equaled about $5,000 in damages and product losses.
“Somebody broke into the front window and then proceeding to go shopping,” Osadczuk said.
“He had a very specific list. It was kind of strange… He’d go into a cabinet, take one or two things and leave the rest sitting there.
“He was interested in helmets. At the back, he took one out of the two that were there. The same with the other cabinets. He went through and he just picked specific things.
“He got caught so we don’t know how much he was going to take,” the owner added.
On Wednesday, the Edmonton Police Service said the suspect left the stolen items in front of the business, and was seen by police leaving the area with a firearm.
The police helicopter and members of the tactical unit arrested the suspect at an industrial compound in Edmonton. A stolen vehicle was also located in the area, which police said is believed to have been used in the break-in. A loaded firearm was found inside the vehicle, police said.
The investigation led police to a residence in Spruce Grove, where they found stolen firearms and ammunition. Police said 30 firearms, more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a variety of military surplus items — including bayonets and knives — were seized at the home west of Edmonton.
The teen, who cannot be named, has been charged with 20 offences, including three counts of break and enter to steal firearms, theft of motor vehicle and other firearms-related charges.
Police said they believe the youth may be linked to similar incidents that happened last year in the Spruce Grove area.
WATCH BELOW (March 5, 2018): The owner of Sebarms military surplus and hunting gear store in Edmonton is cleaning up after about $40,000 in merchandise was stolen this weekend. Kim Smith reports live with the details.
Last March, roughly $45,000 worth of product, including deactivated military machine guns, were stolen from SEBARMS.
Those kinds of guns aren’t functional and can’t be used to shoot, but Osadczuk was worried they could be used in connection with other crimes. Suspects could pretend they were real, he said.
“I think this was a different guy because the guy who came in March was after the guns and he couldn’t get them off the wall,” Osadczuk said.
“So then he took whatever he could take, gun related. It was just a random thing whereas this guy had a specific list he was after.”
The previous summer, Osadczuk said several handguns were stolen. After that, security on the working firearms was enforced.
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