MOUNT FOREST – At first, the figure walks by Eco Den, keeping an eye trained on something through the storefront’s window for four or five steps.
The person is wearing a florescent orange jacket – the kind construction workers wear – with dark pants and maybe work boots.
The hooded figure disappears from view, possibly into the alleyway between Eco Den and Vape Prism.
Moments later the person returns and begins forcing their way through Eco Den’s front door, kicking at the glass before switching to what appears to be a hammer to shatter it.
The first glass-break alarm went off at 2:41am on Oct. 24, video footage supplied to the Advertiser shows.
Seconds later, the person is gone, making off with an old wireless speaker.
“The crime and vandalism in Mount Forest is just out of control,” Natalie Overholt said.
Overholt owns Eco Den, which sells natural personal care products and recently celebrated it sixth anniversary.
Like other downtown business owners with break-ins in recent weeks, she said crime is at its highest in recent memory.
“I’ve been waiting the past few weeks. I’ve been saying, ‘it’s going to be my turn,’” Overholt said.
Lights are left on overnight, the cash register emptied daily, and modern alarm and camera systems are always monitoring.
“It still wasn’t enough,” she said.
When police knocked on Overholt’s door in the early morning hours that Friday, she knew.
Overholt said neighbours heard the glass being smashed, and one witnessed the person fleeing.
Police arrived within minutes, according to Overholt, but didn’t catch the person.
A total of five downtown Mount Forest businesses have been broken into this month, and business owners are fed up and speaking out.
“This is a huge change, this is not something we’re used to,” Overholt said.
“Petty stuff happens once in a while, the odd business gets broken into, but I think people are getting nervous and scared.”
Two days prior, on Oct. 22 at around 8:47pm, the glass front door was smashed at Rekesh and Jiten Patel’s restaurant, Mount Forest Tandoori Grill.
The crook made off with money from a cash register and a tip jar after cutting power to the unit.
‘This is a surprise’
Damages and the money stolen total roughly $3,000, according to Rekesh.
The Patels first fired up the Grill, in the former location of Mount Forest Pizza, just two months ago.
“This is a surprise for me,” Rekesh said. “They need the money or something, I don’t know.”
According to Rekesh, the building has been broken into four times, including when it was a pizza shop.
“I don’t know why they’re not catching the people,” he said of police, adding that without consequences, break-ins will continue.
On Oct. 18, around 2:38am, Rob Menzies said the glass was smashed out of the front door at his business, RAM Computers and Tools.
Menzies said there was a power outage at the time, and his security camera malfunctioned.
Metal bars, originally installed on the door when Menzies opened the business in 2006, prevented the person from entering. But he’s out $800 for repairs.
“I called [police] and let them know what happened, but they said since no one entered the premises or took anything that they couldn’t do anything about it,” Menzies said.
The last break-in, Menzies recalled, was around eight years ago. A window was smashed and a laptop stolen.
‘I wondered if I would be a target’
“You wonder whether it’s going to happen again because it’s been happening around town … and I wondered if I would be a target at some point,” he said.
On Oct. 15, the Mount Forest Thrift Store was targeted.
“Our side door was broken open, that’s how they gained access,” said manager Brenda Harris, adding she believes it was “just one person in the store.”
She noted a donation box containing around $20 was stolen.
“I think it’s just terrible what’s going on,” Harris said.
“When you come to the store and it has been broken into, it just makes you sick really,” she added, calling it a “violation.”
Harris has managed the store for 12 of its 15 years.
Money from the sale of donated product benefits Mount Forest Cancer Patient Services and the Louise Marshall Hospital Foundation.
‘We need more policing’
The last break-in at the thrift shop was a couple years ago, when some donations were stolen, Harris said, though she couldn’t recall the year.
“I believe we need more policing in the downtown area,” she added.
On Oct. 14, someone broke into Scott’s Pizza Burger between 1 and 5am, said co-owner Scott Young.
“I just came to the restaurant and I see the window was propped open and someone had snuck in and tried to take whatever cash they could,” Young said, adding around $500 was stolen.
“This has probably been the worst, in the last month or so, I’ve seen,” he said.
“Week after week after week is just kind of ridiculous.”
Young said police came to the business and canvassed the neighbourhood.
Police presence could be increased, he suggested, but cops can’t be everywhere all the time.
“I hope the other businesses can recover. I feel for all of them. It sucks,” he said.
On Oct. 13, the front door glass at Vape Prism was smashed out between 2 and 3am.
“When I go in the store, I saw a lot of vapes were fallen from the shelves and he took our cash register and a bunch of vapes,” said store manager Shubham Dhiman.
He added the business was robbed of $1,400 in cash and products in under two minutes.
Business owners are divided on whether police are doing enough to address the crime spree, and some suggested those responsible are known to police and the community.
At least 30 break-ins since July: police
“Wellington County OPP have an ongoing commitment to ensure the safety of our local residents and their associated businesses,” OPP spokesperson Matthew Burton stated in an email.
According to OPP data, there have been more than 30 break-ins in Mount Forest since July. Two-thirds invovled non-commercial buildings.
Police have laid at least 10 criminal charges, including for mischief, break and enter, possession of break-in instruments, and theft.
Arrests unrelated to commercial break-ins
Police recently charged a 16-year-old Mount Forest youth, who cannot be named by law, with two counts of mischief.
Police allege the teen damaged a vehicle on Wellington Street West and broke a window at a Scotia Bank branch in downtown Mount Forest on Oct. 25 and 26. Scotia Bank declined to comment.
Police have also charged a 33-year-old Arthur woman and a 49-year-old Mount Forest man with breaking into an empty Birmingham Street West residence in Mount Forest on Oct. 29.
None of the recent charges have been connected to the commercial break-ins.
‘It needs to stop’
Nearly every source in this article criticized the legal system, saying repeat offenders are too easily released, with few consequences.
“It’s not fair that this is something that continues, and it needs to stop,” said Leanne Clark.
Her gemstone and crystal store Art Arrows was broken into last year.
Within minutes, $2,500 in product was stolen after the business’ front door was smashed.
“You spend years creating a space of safety for yourself and for others in the community and one person has the ability to rip that away from you and then you have to rebuild it,” Clark said.
For her, the store is “basically my second home.”
“The community as a whole is fantastic,” she said, adding she recouped the loss and cost of security system upgrades through a GoFundMe campaign and help from her landlord.
But crime in Mount Forest is unreasonable, Clark said, and she wants to see police work with the local government, chamber of commerce and BIA to solve the problem.
“There is a possibility to build a community where people feel safe,” she said. “That’s what I’m pushing for.”
The Mount Forest Chamber of Commerce did not respond a request for comment.
Jessica McFarlane, a Mount Forest BIA director, stated in an email, “It’s unfortunate that these businesses are getting broken into. We feel terrible for them.”
McFarlane said the BIA would not comment further.
More OPP patrols
Wellington North Mayor Andy Lennox said the unprecedented crime spree is leaving business owners feeling “threatened” and “powerless.”
“Clearly this is not a one-off and then months later there’s another one-off,” Lennox said.
“We’re in a situation where it’s more frequent and we’ve got to find a way to respond to that.”
The mayor said he spoke about the issue with Wellington County OPP inspector Karen Medeiros on Oct. 27.
“In the short term, she’s going to step up patrols in downtown Mount Forest,” Lennox said, adding nearby Arthur isn’t facing the same issues.
But longer-term answers are needed to respond to what has recently become “more of a serious issue.”
“I think we need to be open minded and see what we can do together to make it work,” said Lennox.
In the coming weeks, downtown businesses can expect to be engaged with resources to address crime.
“In the meantime, we do have this commitment to enhance patrols,” Lennox said, adding, “hopefully that will help deter them (break-ins) as well.”
Wellington County OPP confirmed the increase in patrols in an email, adding investigations are ongoing.
Overholt and other business owners stressed the rash of break-ins isn’t emblematic of the community as a whole.
After learning of the incident at Overholt’s store, Harriston-based Murphy’s Timber Mart had boarded up the door by 6am.
“I think a quarter of the community came today (Oct. 24) because it was an amazing sales day and we had so much support,” Overholt said, adding she even received flowers.
“I love this community.”
