Medford, Ore. — Medford police are searching for a suspect accused of stealing around $700 worth of tools from Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. Operations Director Brandon Thoms said the theft that happened early Monday morning is the third time in a month.
“It’s one of those unnerving things when you pull in the parking lot in the morning, and you pass the [Medford Police Department] officer, you know something happened the night before,” Thoms said. “Last night about midnight, somebody hopped one of our fences.”
Security video shows the thief first tried to break into the store and a woodshed, before targeting a parked car.
“[The suspect] noticed some valuable tools in the back of one of the trucks, and decided to smash in the window and gain access,” Thoms said.
Between the window repair and the missing tools, Habitat for Humanity is out nearly $1,000. Thoms said the hit wasn’t something the organization was prepared for.
“We don’t really work into our budget taking care of things when they’re stolen or vandalized, we’d rather not have to deal with that, we have better things to put our finances towards,” Thoms said.
Despite the setback, Habitat for Humanity is still open, and working to serve its customers.
“You can’t prevent everything, so it’s going to happen, it’s sad and frustrating, but we keep on keeping on,” Thoms said.
The organization is taking donations to help with the damage. To learn more, click here.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.