BALLS CREEK, N.S. — Noelle Christie was about five minutes late for work Friday morning, minutes that possibly saved her from a terrifying confrontation.
Christie – and her husband Michael MacDonald – are owners of Noelle’s Country Market and Bakery in Balls Creek, which suffered an attempted break-in at about 6:24 a.m. Friday, Jan. 10. Footage from their security video captured an alleged suspect carrying an axe.
“I basically just missed it,” she said. “It’s disturbing that your place is being violated.”
Christie is usually at their store between 6:20 to 6:25 a.m,. but Friday was late.
“He knocked the power out about 6:24 a.m. — the alarm company said — and he smashed the front window at 6:25.”
The couple has a garage on the property with an apartment above it. Their tenant heard the glass breaking and said the culprit had just backed out and left minutes before she pulled in. Christie arrived at 6:30 a.m.
As soon as she pulled in she knew something was wrong as they always leave back lights on which were out.
“When I drove up to the building and looked inside it was pitch black. Everyone else had power on around me. I knew something was wrong.”
Checking around back, Christie discovered the power box had been knocked off the building.
The culprit had smashed the front window, which had set the alarm off and in the process, notified the alarm company. There are metal bars on the window, preventing access.
The couple was forced to put the bars on as they’ve had three of four attempted break-ins since opening their business eight years ago and their door smashed twice.
Christie said they have countless cameras surrounding the property and footage of the suspect carrying an axe.
For the safety of their employees and the public, one thing Christie was thankful for was that this occurred after hours instead of while open.
“This morning was pretty close though,” she said. “It does play on your mind.”
The police told them George’s Convenience Store had been broken into just before theirs was hit. There is about a 20 to 25 minute drive between the two stores.
Christie is urging anyone with information to contact police.
In the meantime, Christie said police contacted Nova Scotia Power and power was hooked back up so they were able to reopen rather quickly Friday morning.
Cape Breton Regional Police confirmed they are investigating three attempted break-and-enters Friday including to George’s Convenience Store, Noelle’s Country Market and Cabot Power Sports on Keltic Drive, between 6:05 a.m. and 6:40 a.m. Police say George’s Convenience and Noelle’s Country Store were targeted between 6-6:30 a.m. Both were closed at the time. The power boxes were broken off from both buildings and the windows were damaged. Entry wasn’t gained into Noelle’s and the owners of George’s Convenience are still trying to determine if anything was taken. At Cabot, the suspect breached the property fence and searched around before leaving empty-handed.
Police say the suspect was wearing dark clothing covering the facial area but noted to be driving a burgundy or red SUV believed to be a Chevrolet Tracker
Anyone with information to help identify the vehicle or suspect, or about these incidents, is asked to contact police at 902-563-5151 or Crime Stoppers at 902-562-8477.
George’s Country Convenience Store on Scotch Lake Road, Georges River, was purchased by Renee and Tim Smith in July 2019. The couple has posted a $500 reward on Facebook for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for breaking into their store Friday.
“It’s so overwhelming,” Renee said. “They actually smashed out our front window.”
Renee said they were asleep Friday when they received a call at about 6:15 a.m. reporting their alarm going off. It was discovered their power had been disabled at 5:56 a.m. According to evidence from their video security cameras, the culprit was on the scene for at least 15 minutes.
“It appears they had a hard time disconnecting the power meter because they were on that side of the building for quite a while.”
The suspect broke their window and entered the store through the broken glass.
“It’s beyond frustrating,” she said “It’s a small business. It’s hard enough to make a go of any small business and now we have the expense to replace this.”
Police were on the scene gathering evidence. Renee said they’ve also been viewing video security footage from neighbours of the suspect vehicle and have witnesses who saw it ‘racing down road’ around the time in question.
The couple doesn’t believe anything was taken from their store but Friday afternoon was still assessing their contents.
In September, Renee said they suffered an armed robbery – the culprit had a knife. This cost them again, investing in new security cameras.
“That made all the staff so scared that we had to close early this season. They were scared to come to work every day.”
Following the September break-in, there had also been another suspicious incident caught on their security camera of individuals on four-wheelers hiding around the side of the building.
Four weeks ago, they believe there was an attempted break-in of their home after suspicious people were reported on their property.
“All of that and now this,” she said, “It’s overwhelming.
The business will be reopening in March.
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