By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Last Saturday, Flowers Just-4-U on the corner of 23rd and Cherry in Seattle’s Central Area was burglarized.
According to the owner Mary Wesley, affectionately known as Miss Mary, a man came into the establishment allegedly looking to acquire change for the bus. Wesley, who was attending to her business at the time, greeted the man as he came through the door.
“The man came in asking for change for the bus,” says Wesley. “I told him he would have to purchase something because I didn’t just have change. I also suggested that he would have better luck going to the store across street.”
After the exchange, Wesley claims the man proceeded to purchase a dozen roses and then asked for two dozen. As Miss Mary began preparing the roses for the customer, he told her that “he needed to go to his car to get his credit card for the purchase.”
According to Wesley, the man returned about five minutes later and handed her a credit card. As she turned her back on the man to process the transaction Wesley says she felt the man behind her. As she opened the cash register the man jumped from behind her, took the cash register and ran out of the building.
Shaken by the incident Wesley called 911 and the police to her surprise arrived rather quickly. The officer at the scene took Wesley’s statement and description of the perpetrator who she said, “was about 6 feet, a Black man, light skin, wearing a black jacket, a hat, and a black backpack.”
Although Wesley’s business has a security system it is not set up with video, which makes it harder for the police to identify the suspect.
“I have alarms, but no camera and I just felt violated,” says Wesley. “I just never dreamed that this would happen to me.”
“Every small business should be on the alert, and I recommend every business invest in cameras,” Wesley warns. “To protect what is rightfully theirs. These people are coming in and taking whatever they want. Because they know business are not fully, one hundred percent protected. I am investing in a camera because I never dreamed that this would happen.”
