This isn't the first break-in at Players Choice Sports in downtown Kelowna, but it hurts the most, said owner Jason Wobshall.
Jason Wobshall is no stranger to dealing with vandalism and theft. Over the last 18 years, his sports card store Players Choice Sports in downtown Kelowna has been targeted by thieves and mischief-makers.
But the attacks on his store have spiked since the beginning of the pandemic and the latest incident — which roused Wobshall out of bed around 1:45 a.m. early Tuesday — has dealt the harshest blow yet.
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That’s because one of the items stolen is the Wayne Gretzky-autographed Indianapolis Racers jersey valued at $10,000. The Great One played for the Racers in the 1978-79 season before he joined the Edmonton Oilers. The white jersey, with a blue and red trim, is identified as 29 out of 250.
“This one hits the hardest,” said Wobshall. “Those jerseys don’t pop up very often.”
The thief also made off with several boxes of sports cards, including F1 cards and rookie cards of Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, worth approximately $30,000.
Late Tuesday morning, Wobshall was still tallying up the stolen items and believes the losses could surpass $40,000.
Kelowna RCMP was alerted to the break-in at around 2:10 a.m. Police says a man used a hammer to smash through the store’s window. The thief was only in the store for two minutes, said Wobsholl, and appeared to target hockey memorabilia. The person, shown in surveillance cameras wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, smashed more windows heading out the back door.
To add insult to injury, the theft occurred five days before Wobshall is closing his store and moving to bigger and, he hopes, safer premises.
“Part of the reason we’re moving out of downtown is because it’s become so criminal-ridden, it’s insane.” he said. “It’s non-stop smash and grab city over here.”
In November, a thief cut through the store’s window and grabbed $7,000 of goods boxed up against the wall. In another incident, two teens throwing rocks broke six of the store’s windows.
Most of his neighbouring businesses have also been broken into or vandalized in some way. He’s also grown tired of cleaning up feces, vomit and other detritus left behind on the street.
Repairing the damage often comes out of his own pocket because insurance deductibles are too high and he doesn’t want his rates to go even higher, said Wobshall.
The petty crime has exacted a heavy financial and mental cost. “I don’t sleep as it is. I check the camera every hour, every two hours. It’s no way to live. And every business owner in Kelowna feels the same way.”
Kelowna RCMP released a photo of a suspect Tuesday, appealing to the public for help in identifying the person.
“A theft like this causes immense financial harm to a small local business in our community and the RCMP is going to use every investigational tool possible to find and arrest those responsible,” said Const. Mike Della-Paolera of Kelowna RCMP in a statement.
Anyone with information or dash cam footage in the 400-block of Cawston Avenue in Kelowna around the time is asked to call Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
chchan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/cherylchan
