Charity shop left with big damage bill

Not-for-profit Good Sammy will likely foot a $5000 damage bill after burglars broke into its North West Coastal Highway premises and ransacked the place.

Retail operations manager Paige Lynam said the break-in, which happened amid a string of other burglaries on September 9, included the glass door being smashed open and items from under the counter being ripped out.

“They took a hammer to the keyboard and computer system in an attempt to open the till draw,” Ms Lynam said.

“But we don’t have money on site so they did a lot of damage but left empty-handed.”

Ms Lynam, who is based in Perth and oversees 30 Good Sammy stores, said this was the second time in seven years that Good Sammy Geraldton had been targeted.

“The local workers were a bit shaken up; obviously people don’t like being waken up and presented with this kind of thing first thing in the morning,” she said. “We were targeted and it’s eaten a bit out of our bottom line.” Ms Lyman said police and a forensics team attended the store quickly, despite a spate of other crimes that night.

Good Sammy opened in Geraldton in 2002.

The organisation has a focus on supporting people with disabilities. Anyone with information in relation to the incident is asked to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.