Thieves steal armfuls of clothing in House of Bras robbery in Timmins

House of Bras...etc, a clothing store in Timmins, has endured multiple break-ins and the owner said the most recent incident on March 18 was caught on video.

House of Bras...etc, a clothing store in Timmins, has endured multiple break-ins and store owner Joanne Gagnon said the most recent incident happened March 18 at around 5:45 a.m.

Gagnon posted a video of two thieves smashing into her store using a snow shovel and making off with merchandise. She upped her security after previous break-ins, but her problems have continued.

“It’s actually my fourth time I’ve been going through that,” Gagnon said.

“I thought with all the cameras and all the security systems we installed and everything, that we would be OK. But no, a year down the road, it’s still happening.”

The Timmins Police Service said an investigation into the break-in is ongoing, but could not accommodate CTV News with an interview at this time.

Gagnon said she decided to post a video of the robbery on her store’s Facebook page so people can understand what she is dealing with.

“I wanted people to see how it’s really happening,” she said.

“It really hits you once you see the video, because we hear about these break-ins all the time, but once you see the video, it really hits you more … It looks more real.”

Gagnon said thieves left behind a bag with a needle inside in two of the four break-ins. She thought it suggested drugs were involved. Now she doubts that and suspects the stolen merchandise is being sold out of town.

Has been a tough year

“They knew what they wanted and I think it’s organized crime and stuff is being sent out of town,” she said.

Gagnon said it’s been a tough year, causing her to reflect. While she plans to keep operating, she said these types of incidents make her wonder about the future.

“With the economy, with the weather and now all these break-ins like it’s not easy to be in retail,” she said.

“It kind of makes you think of the future -- am I still going to be open? Because all the cost of it, all of that, it’s really how would I say that – heavy.”

She’s not giving up. Gagnon has launched a sale and she is thanking everyone who’s been supporting her and her employees during this rough patch.