By Orville Williams
It was not the sight Charles Browne hoped for when opening up his electronics repair shop for business on Tuesday, thieves having made off with several items sometime between Monday night and early Tuesday morning.
The 20-year-old told Observer that he was shocked upon noticing the signs of forced entry and even more so when he realised that the items were missing.
“Me and my dad had just arrived, we opened up and we realised the door was basically forced open; the frame was broken down and pried open,” he said.
The shop, CB Electronics, is located opposite the Antigua Girls High School, and Browne explained that his business is strictly electronics repairs, rather than sales.
Among the items stolen during the incident were an iPhone XS, LG Stylus and two Dell laptops, worth approximately $10,000. Some cash, which was stored in the same area as the electronics, was stolen as well.
Browne says the theft is particularly disappointing as all the electronics that were taken belong to customers who were looking forward to collecting their property after he was through repairing them.
He is also disappointed with the fact that there was a previous attempt to burglarise his business place, which didn’t work out, but this time the thieves were successful.
“There was an attempt on September 15 [and] I believe it was the same person that tried. That first time, they weren’t successful.
“They tried breaking through the frame, but I guess they didn’t have the equipment the first time. They even tried breaking in through the windows and they weren’t successful at that either, but this time they got through.”
According to the young businessman, the matter has been brought to the attention of the police and when he spoke with Observer, he was preparing to break the news to his customers.
He is urging anyone with information on the break in/theft to share that information with the police and the public is also reminded not to purchase any items from persons who are not authorised to sell.