South Shore man out $25K after daylight theft of party supply trailer
Michel St-Arnaud was trying to do a good thing, donating party supplies from his company to the SPCA Ouest's grand reopening event this weekend.
He parked his trailer full of deflated bounce castles, a cotton-candy maker, carnival activities and more in the SPCA's parking lot after the event, and was shocked to return the next morning and find it gone.
"It's a big amount of money. When you do something free for a cause, and then something like that happens, you're not ready," said St-Arnaud.
He estimates the value of the trailer to be around $10,000 on its own, with about $15,000 worth of supplies inside.
St-Arnaud said he put three locks on the trailer and that the heist took place in broad daylight just before 9 a.m.
He said employees at the SPCA assumed the person who came for the truck worked for St-Arnaud.
His company, Amusement Experts, is based in La Prairie and services clients across the South Shore.
The trailer was stolen from the SPCA office on Cité-des-Jeunes Boulevard in Vaudreuil.
"It's hard to know if it's someone who planned it a day in advance or just decided to do it while he was just driving by."
The SPCA Ouest just reopened at the new location, and threw a two-day party to celebrate.
Jack Bedakelian, vice-president of operations, told CBC he feels terrible this incident happened after St-Arnaud was kind enough to donate
"My heart went out to this poor guy," he said.
St-Arnaud has filed a report with the Sûreté du Québec and is hoping someone might spot the trailer emblazoned on three sides with the Amusement Experts logo.
