Today is Monday, September 16, 2019. I am your host Stone and this is The Whitby Report.
Weather
It is currently 19°C and we’re expected to drop to a low of 10°. Fall is certainly around the corner and The Weather Network has just posted their fall forecast. Our region is expecting a warmer than usual fall, however, it’s going to be a colder than normal winter. Ugh. On the bright side, warmer than usual fall means a local Whitby man’s garden has a better chance of yielding a full crop. Everything has sprouted except for carrots and mint.
Local News
Two Men Arrested in ‘Merchandise Return Scam’ at Whitby Home Depot. This happened at the Victoria Street Home Depot, the most southern of Whitby’s two locations. Police were alerted to a “fraud in progress”. Police arrived and arrested two men: Kwabena Ansere (39 from Toronto) and Randy Amofa (31 from Toronto). They arrested one person inside the store and the other in a car in the parking lot.
Stone’s Take
Okay, so I’ve worked in Retail but I’m not sure how I would have known this was a “fraud in progress”. Or at least be so certain I would call the police. Thinking about it, they obtained a Home Depot credit card in Cobourg, purchased things and stuff, and then were going to return them in Whitby without a receipt. So yeah, they’re trying to get cash or store credit for the return.
It’s still a bit of conjecture since we don’t know all the details from the police report. I do know that I’m not so sure I would call the police right off the bat. I’m sure there is some information missing here that they’re likely not going to release until there is a trial. They do say they obtained the credit card with false ID and found said false ID along with a false Social Insurance Number card.
Glad to have two more miscreants off the street.