At least three Matlacha businesses are reeling after a series of shoplifting incidents.
“Vile is the word that comes to mind,” Jennifer Bennett, owner of Island Flair—one of the businesses hit—said. "It wasn’t a mad, it was an anxiety of, ‘I can’t believe someone would actually go through an art store and steal from local artists.’ That was the part that just kept running through my brain.”
Bennett was in her store during the incident, and said that the suspect—a woman in a patterned dress seen on Bennett’s security cameras—stole nearly $500 worth of local artwork from her store alone. One piece, a carved wooden cat statue, was hidden under her dress.
After realizing what had happened, Bennett reached out to other business owners—like Joseph Perry of Matlacha Menagerie, across the street—to see if they had been affected. Perry said his store wasn’t, but he feels for those whose stores were.
"Especially what all the community’s gone through and the small businesses… all the trials and tribulations since the hurricanes," Perry said.
Bennett and Perry said local artists rely on their work to maintain a steady income, especially after hurricanes.
“Please just let us have a couple of seasons without major incidences, and we all just doing our best to revive every single day, and so when something like this happens, it just feels like you’re knocking out teeth that aren’t even there anymore."Jennifer Bennett
“I think a lot of us were just walking around… sorry, these topics really just stop you," Bennett said. "There’s a lot of trauma from Ian.”
Now, however, even with this latest incident impacting some remaining businesses, both Perry and Bennett said their commitment to the community will not waver.
If you have any information, please contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers or the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
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