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New business burglarized on Thanksgiving Day

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On Thanksgiving, Velvet Sloan was busy with last minute preparations for her family’s holiday meal when she remembered that she had left the “Open” sign on at her newly opened business, The Itty Bitty Shop. Her husband, Bob Adams, was running errands, so a quick call and he was on his way to switch the sign to closed.

Moments later, Sloan received a frantic call from her husband. The shop, only opened weeks before, had been burglarized and the front door was kicked-in.

Upon further inspection, Adams found the burglars had removed the meter and the electricity was completely shut off. He speculated it was to disconnect an alarm system.

Sloan made her way to her organic bath and skin care store that houses not only hers, but many local vendors merchandise, as well. Once there, Sloan noticed that most of the jewelry was stolen, as well as some pieces from her own line. Featured jewelry most prominently displayed was the hardest hit. Local jewelry artist, Diana Wells, featured in Martha Stewart magazine, had multiple pieces snatched during the burglary. Another jewelry designer, Cindy Jarossy, also suffered a loss. Sloan’s own products including bath salts were taken during the robbery. A PayPal credit card swiping mechanism was also taken.

Under advisement from an insurance agent, Sloan could not insure vendor’s merchandise because it did not belong to the business. Those items were a total loss for all involved. It is estimated that more than $600 worth of merchandise was stolen and at least $150 in property damage.

Camden Police Officers, Josh Boyd and Lucas Robertson responded to the scene.

From the appearance of the shoe print on the door, the perpetrator responsible for kicking through the front door may be left handed. The print was noted.

Sloan was devastated for the vendors that entrusted her business with their valuables. She said, “I feel so incredibly bad, especially for those that were affected by this burglary. We are going to take more security measures to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The couple installed a new security system on Friday.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact the city police department at (731) 584-4622.