Brazen thieves target Nambour businesses two nights in a row

Josie Heslop and Jamie Brady’s Crafters Heart, in Price Street, was targetted two nights in a row.

Nambour shop owners are struggling to come to terms with a series of break-ins last week.

Vapers Den in Queen Street, Golf Programs Australia (GPAI) in Currie St, Crafters Heart Cafe in Price Street, the CWA Hall in Short Street and some shops at Nambour Plaza (Free Choice Tobacconist and Donut King) were targeted on Thursday and Friday nights. 

There is CCTV footage of the raids and Crafters Heart Cafe owner Jamie Brady says he knows who was responsible. “I confronted him the other day. But what are you going to do? He’s just a young kid.”

Jamie, a Social and Youth Worker, renovated and created the not-for-profit cafe and op shop at 44 Price Street with his partner Josie Heslop. 

Sen Sgt Gary Brayley: “We definitely had quite a severe spike in break-ins Thursday night-Friday morning.”

Police have CCTV footage of suspect 

Officer in Charge Nambour Police Station Senior Sergeant Gary Brayley said police were investigating the spate of CBD break-ins.

“We definitely had quite a severe spike in break-ins Thursday night-Friday morning,” he said. 

“But we have secured some CCTV footage and our enquiries are continuing in respect to all of those. We’ve only got one person depicted in the Nambour footage at this stage. That’s not to say there aren’t more. 

“We’ve got a few ideas of who it might be but we can’t confirm the identity of any suspect at the moment.”

Sen Sgt Brayley encouraged people with information or CCTV footage to come forward. “If your business has any useful CCTV footage, or if you can review footage taken between 11pm Thursday evening and 6am Friday morning, if you see any suspect characters in that footage give us a call.”

Sen Sgt Brayley said Yandina had also had a surge in incidents recently.

“We had two spikes in break and enters in Yandina in the previous couple of weeks too. And we have charged a juvenile regarding those, and we do have another suspect. And similarly those enquiries are continuing. It’s possible the Yandina offences and these ones are linked but I’ve got nothing concrete to confirm that.”

Sen Sgt Brayley said Nambour State College was also broken in to on the weekend and some damage done to the admin block “but that may not be connected to the other break-ins”.

Jamie was philosophical about the break-ins and said it was part of a larger problem. “The reason we started the enterprise was to help these young kids,” he said. “That’s why we are here. It’s the sort of thing I used to do as a kid. But I changed. I chose a different path and we want to help these kids do the same.   

“Only thing is we don’t have any money to fix what’s broken, so we just have to deal with it for now.”

He said the thief or thieves broke in Thursday night and then returned Friday gaining access via a different point.

“Thursday they came in under the roller door. They pried it up and rolled under. So then we put a bolt on it and got a new till, because they took the first one.

“Then, the next night they smashed a window out the back. They knew where the till was and stole it again.  I’m annoyed they did it two nights in a row. I thought ‘you don’t get robbed twice’. The second night they also snapped my laptop screen in half.

“I guess we’re an easy target in a rough part of town. But it’s all just added to the uphill battle that we’ve had since we opened.”

Darrell Dalton of Golf Programs Australia said thieves also targeted his shop Thursday night and then returned Friday. 

But Darrell said he beefed up his already-comprehensive security after the first break-in and they were unable to gain entry the second night. 

“We have security cameras,” he said. “Most of the places do. 

“The police have one  perpetrator’s fingerprints and identified him as a 51-year-old, apparently. 

“It’s obviously a gang, even though there’s one fellow who seems to be significant on the footage. I believe he’s assisted by a whole crew.

“They smashed our till and took $100 and they took some tools and tried to break in to our charity bus’s fuel tank.

“So I think the first visit was to just do recon (reconnaissance) and find out what they could possibly get the next night.

“I can see where they’ve tried to break in the second night. They fiddled with our security lights and I can see where they tried to gain access again. But it was too strong, I’d really secured it.”

Darrell  was hopeful forensics could match up prints found at other break-in sites. 

Worryingly, he said the brazen perpetrators did not appear to be worried by cameras, alarms or sensor lights.

Darrell’s wife Michelle was frustrated with the situation. She said Nambour used to have a night watchman to patrol the streets and she wanted businesses to consider a return to that initiative. 

“We need a night watchman wbecause there’s not enough activity at night on the street,” she said. “When we go around at night, it’s all quiet and businesses are just such sitting ducks.”

The couple said they had noticed an increase in illegal activity in Nambour in recent months.

“Six months ago or thereabouts, we had a new crew come into town and I think they’re increasing their drug distribution and I think they’re targeting young people,” said Michelle.

Darrell said the broader issue was that the police were tied up seeing to domestic violence issues and pressure needed to be exerted at the political level.   

Michelle said it took them three years to raise funds to fit out the bus, which was damaged in the raid. 

“We haven’t come to terms with what we’re going to do yet,” she said. 

“We worked hard to get that bus and it was ready to go for our fundraising, and now we don’t know what we’re going to do.” 

Machete attack also reported

Meanwhile, police will continue investigating a machete attack in Nambour at the weekend.

A man aged in his 20s suffered a wound to his arm after being slashed by a machete in Huntingdale Drive in Nambour on Sunday October 2.