$4K in police-recommended security upgrades didn't stop second trailer theft
Owner of gutter repair business hit by thieves 2 months after identical theft
After thieves took a work trailer and tools worth about $40,000 in September, Nicholas Waldram reached out to police for help.
The 28-year-old owner of Eavesafe Gutter Protection invested in new security cameras, GPS trackers for his trailer, motion-activated alarms, a lockable boot for the trailer wheels and a trailer hitch lock. The security upgrades cost about $4,000 and were recommended by a police security audit of his business done after the first robbery, which CBC News reported about.
Then, in the early hours of Sunday morning, Waldram's business was hit again.
In a theft captured by his brand new security cameras, two men came into the Wonderland Business Park just after 3 a.m. As the motion-activated alarms rang, they systematically cut away all the locks on the trailer, pushed it out at a 45-degree angle, hitched it up to a pickup truck and hit the road.
The entire operation took less than 40 minutes. In addition to the trailer, Waldram lost tools and a $15,000 machine that presses metal rolls into the shape of eaves troughs.
Business owner frustrated
"I pulled out all the stops to try and prevent this from happening again, but then it did," he said.
Waldram still has to replace the trailer stolen in September. It represents half his fleet, forcing him to cancel thousands of dollars in customer orders days before the winter weather ends his season.
A portion of Waldram's frustration is directed at his landlord, Old Oak Properties, which rents space to him and a few dozen other contractor businesses at 3392 Wonderland Rd. S. at the corner of Wharncliffe Road.
While Waldram carried out every security upgrade the police audit recommend at his own expense, the report also called for a gate at the Wonderland Road entrance to be kept closed overnight and monitored by a guard. A security guard does work at the business park overnight, but Waldram said he moves around and failed to prevent both thefts.
Waldram's security cameras captured the security guard walking past the trailer about an hour before it was stolen and again an hour after, apparently not noticing it was gone on his second trip around.
The GPS security in the trailer pinged their location in the Strathroy area about eight hours after the robbery, but the signal has since gone dead.
Waldram said in their lease agreements, Old Oak makes it clear that tenants are responsible for security measures for their shops, store fronts and vehicles. But Waldram said and he and other business owners in the plaza were willing to pay for the police-recommended gate and spoke with Old Oak staff about it, yet nothing happened.
"There is only one way in and out of this place at night," he said. "They said they were going to look into it, but they didn't give me an answer one way or another. I don't think they expected it to happen again."
Landlord responds
In a statement to CBC News, Old Oak Properties said the plaza's parking lot is an open, public space and that tenants are told not to leave vehicles outside overnight.
"Tenants are notified not to leave items in the public parking, as it is accessible to the public, is not within their leased premises, and as there is a risk of items going missing if left in public spaces," the statement said. "Any tenant who chooses to leave items in the public access parking, is doing so at their own risk, and violating their lease agreement.
The statement also said the landlord "follows best practices in the property management of public access light industrial parks like this one, where parking and access is not controlled."
Waldram said many tenants in the plaza leave their vehicles outside. He also showed CBC News an email message to him from an Old Oak Employee granting him permission to park the trailer outside. Meanwhile, he's looking into his legal options.
"In my opinion, this is negligence," he said. "Old Oak had the opportunity to improve security on their property at no cost to them ... it's kind of shocking."
Waldram isn't the only business in the plaza targeted by thieves this year. Ray Hassounah owns Mountain Stone Countertops and Kitchens. He's had his work trailer stolen twice. The first time he was able to recover it, but not the second time.
Markus Brunner of Forest City Pool & Patio had a pickup truck stolen in the summer. Police were able to recover it, but it was contaminated with fentanyl. Brunner said his insurance company deemed the truck a write-off because fentanyl is considered a toxin. Both businesses say they've invested heavily in security.
"Everyone here is frustrated," said Waldram. "We all rely on these tools and equipment to run our businesses and put food on the table. I've had to cancel jobs, refund deposits. My guys can't do work if they don't have tools to do it. My insurance is definitely going to go up."
Waldram has resorted to sleeping on the conference table at his office to prevent any further thefts.
"If my last trailer gets stolen, I'm going to have to shut down," he said. "I am going to be moving out of this complex as soon as I possibly can."
Clarifications
- This story was updated to include a statement by the property owner Old Oak Properties.Nov 29, 2023 10:50 AM ET
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