When Andrew Warner came into work Wednesday morning, he was greeted by an ugly scene: broken glass, a mess inside his shop and the awful sensation of wondering what isn't there anymore.
An apparent overnight break-in at Warner Landscape and Patio—within two weeks of its spring seasonal opening—had the garden center owner fuming and searching for answers.
"I'm trying to take an inventory of everything that's missing, which is more difficult than you think," Warner told Patch.
"We noticed all my air tools were missing," he said. "Somebody going through my tools is like somebody going through my underwear drawer: It's personal."
Warner reported that his internal security camera captured footage of the person he believes to be responsible for the break-in. He provided a still photograph to Patch in an email, which is attached to this story.
Judging by the clock on his internal security camera, Warner believes the individual was inside his building from 2:23 a.m. to 3:05 a.m. on March 13.
Warner said he had notified Collingswood police, but by mid-day Wednesday, authorities were unavailable for comment. Warner thinks the perpetrator "busted out the window with a brick" and "tried to take big stuff out the window;" a bar in the frame prevented him from doing so.
"The guy tried," Warner said. "He tried taking heavy-duty equipment; he was trying for anything he could."
**UPDATE**—March 13, 9 p.m.: Warner distributed to Patch surveillance footage he says came from his internal security cameras. In it, he says, the individual can be seen more clearly. In an email, Warner noted:
Camera footage shows the guy removing A LOT of items out the window, all smaller-ish items, as we can see him trying for large items but can't fit it out the opening. still getting a list together of everything. Appears at this time to have targeted mostly automotive tools: air ratchets, 1/2 air guns, including my NEW 1" anvil air gun for doing my 22.5 tractor trailer tires. Also my impact sockets...
Warner also uploaded video footage that he says was captured "less than one minute from time of suspect leaving my facility." He said in an email to Patch that the truck could be seen leaving the front of Sun National Bank before making a U-turn in the middle of Haddon Avenue, picking up the suspect, and heading east.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Collingswood Police Department at 856-854-1901.
If you want us to keep reading your work, don't be so politically correct. The SOB broke into one of our businesses and stole equipment. What would you call someone who stole from you?
Yes, you can only call someone an alleged criminal until they are convicted but there's nothing politically incorrect about saying a criminal exists. Assuming they came from Camden on the other hand.. there is no evidence of that. That's what an assumption is: a guess. So let the police do their jobs. If the tools show up in a pawn shop in Camden then the theory would have slightly more base, though not much more.
And, thank you Matt, for maintaining objectivity in this matter. This is what a good reporter does. Be objective. You are and I truly appreciate it.
There's no legal basis to label the person in these videos a criminal in print. You can only use that phrase when someone has been convicted in a court of law. Until then, no one is free to presume guilt; that's not the standard of judgment we have in this country. The problem we have is that this video has been released directly by Mr. Warner, and not by the police. So technically it's heresay and not investigative evidence. If you wanted to argue that we're seeing video footage out of context, you could make that call. Want a reminder about how it's dangerous to send the mob after the wrong guy? Ryan Lanza wasn't too long ago, right? Are we there yet in this case? Absolutely not. But it's an illustrative example of the dangers of convicting someone in the court of public opinion, and this site will not contribute to that kind of thing as long as I can help it.