A man has been charged after Christmas donations were stolen from a bin at an Aurora, Ont. fire station earlier this month, police say.
The theft happened early on Dec. 8 at the York Central Fire Station located on Edward Street.
York Regional Police said that between 3:30 and 4 a.m., a man took several donations that had been collected to support the community during the Christmas season.
Firefighters were out responding to a call at the time of the theft.
“They had a big bin for toy and food donations for Christmas to help out families in need in our community, and the suspect essentially started filling up a bag with items,” Const. Laura Nicolle told Global News when the incident was initially reported.
Security video appears to show the suspect entering the fire station and placing toys into shopping bags before leaving. The same person returns and appears to take more items by hand before leaving again.
Around 25 minutes later — according to the timestamp on the security video — the suspect went in again and appeared to take more items.
Police said investigators have since been able to identify the suspect.
On Wednesday,45-year-old Aurora resident Allan Gilpin was arrested at his home. He has been charged with two counts of theft under $5,000.
Gilpin is scheduled to appear in a Newmarket court on Jan. 25.
A police spokesperson said the accused does not have a connection to the fire station.