Chronic offender charged with break-in, theft of wigs

Vancouver police say a chronic offender has been arrested and charged in relation to a break-in at a wig store last fall, in which 150 wigs some of which were bound for B.C. Children's Hospital patients were stolen.

Police say Martin Weigelt, 52, allegedly broke into Eva & Co. Wigs on West Broadway early on Sept. 7, 2018, and took the wigs made of human hair.

Each wig is valued at approximately $2,500, making the total stolen worth in excess of $350,000.

Weigeltis described by the VPD as one of Vancouver's most prolific property offenders, with more than 100 criminal convictions since 1987.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth sayshe'sconcerned bythe nature of the theft.

"What I would like to see and what I hope happens is that first off the crime is treated as a serious crime, and clearly if he is a repeat offender that one the sentence is appropriate, and two that, if for example, mental health issues are part of what's causing him to do this, that those are also addressed,"Farnworth said.

Wigs for kids

About 15 ofthe stolen wigshad been prepared forchildren with cancer and other medical conditionsthat involve hair loss,such asalopecia,storemanager Frances Rae saida few days after the theft.

Store co-ownerCindy Yip says each wig was individually customized for the childrenand were ready to be worn for the school year.

"They delayed going back to school, and it was quite heartbreaking," said Yip.

"You know they're already going through so much with cancer.They want to feel normal, and not having hair really it just adds to everything else that they're going through."

Recovered wigs

A few days after the theft police recovered 66 of the wigs when a resident of a Downtown Eastside hotel noticed a bag full of them in the hotel's hallway.

However, Yipsaid those wigs were not salvageable as they had been contaminated.

"It's been sixmonths, I don't have a lot of hope in getting those back," said Yip.

"Hopefully, if someone does see them or someone has any clues, we would love to get them back.I'll keep my fingers crossed."

Policeare asking anyone with information to call the VPD's property crime investigators at 604-717-0610 or make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.