Items stolen from veteran mobility program storage unit
A local veteran non-profit organization is looking for answers after someone stole $5,000 worth of items from a storage facility.
“I just can’t understand why someone would open a door, see wheelchairs and steal stuff,” said Frank Smith, vice president of the Veterans Mobility program.
The Veterans Mobility Corporation has donated nearly 230 wheelchairs and scooters to veterans and their families in the past two and a half years. It recently moved to a new storage facility after being forced to leave its previous one. Someone from the organization visits the storage space every few days to check on a generator that keeps chair batteries from freezing. They checked on it last Wednesday and again Saturday. That’s when they noticed something wasn’t quite right.
“I came out Saturday morning to check on the batteries and there was a different lock on the door,” Smith said. “So I thought that somebody had thought, well that somebody wasn’t in here so they changed the lock. And so we came to find out Monday morning, they didn’t change the lock.”
The thieves broke the lock on the door and then replaced it with their own lock. They stole the generator, an air compressor, 50 chair controllers, 40 to 50 new chargers and other small tools.
“It hurts pretty bad because since we don’t have a steady income of money, we don’t charge for our services,” Smith said. “All the money that we raise to buy this stuff that was stolen, has to be replaced. And so it’s a setback for us.”
The organization has a message for the grinches who stole from it.
“Please return it,” Smith said. “Because it’s a big hurt on our part. You’re depriving someone of a wheelchair that they could now have and you’re taking away their mobility.”
The Veterans Mobility Corporation has alerted all local pawn shops to be on the lookout for any of these items. You, too, can keep your eyes open for any items like these that may pop-up for sale on eBay, Craigslist, or Facebook. If you have any information about this burglary, you can call Idaho Falls Police dispatch at 208-529-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 208-522-1983.
