A shoplifter walked out of the Golden Fleece in Rye’s Lion Street last Friday morning, December 4, and made off with a ladies’ quilt coat with fake fur collar, valued at £219, stuffed under his coat. His movements were recorded on CCTV camera, but identification of the thief is made difficult because of him wearing a face mask and hat.
It was about 11am and Jill Brem-Wilson was in the shop on her own, busy with three customers, when a neatly dressed man walked in. He was wearing a green tweed shooting jacket, blue jeans, a trilby hat and brown leather shoes – and was not the obvious type that needed careful watching, she thought.
She told me: “I noticed that he kept looking at me all the time, but I wasn’t aware of what he was doing – which was perhaps just as well, because I wouldn’t have wanted to get involved. After he left the shop, one of my customers mentioned too late that he had walked off without paying.”
John Fasson, owner of the shop, took prompt action upon his return and posted the event on social media to alert other local shopkeepers (the radio alert system connecting Chamber of Commerce members has been discontinued some years back). He also reported the incident to the police, but is not hopeful that the thief will be brought to justice.
We recalled the burglary at his shop just three years ago, as reported in Rye News. The police have identified the people involved, but have not been able to arrest them. Apparently special permission is requires to access the perpetrators’ mobile phones for evidence, but this has not been forthcoming. John Fasson fears that the case may be dropped because of the delay and no resolution obtained.
Nevertheless, he is phlegmatic about the loss – “We are very lucky in Rye,” he said, “we don’t get a lot of criminal activity going on here.”
Image Credits: Kenneth Bird .
Where is the footage ?
Third line down of report, click on the link ‘CCTV camera’ or go to https://goldenfleecepromotions-my.sharepoint.com/personal/johnfassum_goldenfleecepromotions_onmicrosoft_com/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fjohnfassum%5Fgoldenfleecepromotions%5Fonmicrosoft%5Fcom%2FDocuments%2FPictures%2FCCTV&originalPath=aHR0cHM6Ly9nb2xkZW5mbGVlY2Vwcm9tb3Rpb25zLW15LnNoYXJlcG9pbnQuY29tLzpmOi9nL3BlcnNvbmFsL2pvaG5mYXNzdW1fZ29sZGVuZmxlZWNlcHJvbW90aW9uc19vbm1pY3Jvc29mdF9jb20vRW1kNVdVanBDOGRNcHlLNWdBbnplT2tCNVlDWF9temQ0RzFfNTVQX00yeW5TQT9ydGltZT1oQ1J5eE1LZDJFZw
If you click on the red link ‘CCTV camera’ in the first paragraph it will take you to a number of still pictures and No.6 is the video.
“and was not the obvious type that needed watching” … what’s the obvious type of shoplifter ? The most skilled shoplifters are smartly dressed so they look like they fit in with their surroundings.
Rye & District Chamber of Commerce have a WhatsApp Alert group for Chamber Members so that word can be passed quickly. If you would like to join the Chamber £35pa and be part of the WhatsApp Alert group please contact Sara Nixon on 07867 652839