Small Business Owner Who Didn’t Prosecute Children - Hit With Break-In

Small Business Owner Who Didn’t Prosecute Children - Hit With Break-In

A local small businessman who received rave reviews for his approach to crime in his store, this week was the subject of a break-in and the theft of thousands of dollars in inventory.

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A crew of two or more drove up to the independent neighborhood convenience store on the East Side of Providence, smashed the door window, and stole a range of goods— targeting high-value products like cigarettes and other high-cost items.

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The man seen in the security video obtained by GoLocal can be seen wearing a hoodie but his face is clearly visible. After filling what looks to be a pillowcase, he walks out the door and gets into an awaiting dark-colored sedan.

Just three weeks ago, GoLocal featured Paul Smith, who has owned the East Side Mart on Lloyd Avenue since 2005.

He is a throwback small business owner. He tries to supply everything anyone asks for and is open on Thanksgiving and Christmas day for people who forgot some critical last minutes items like cranberry sauce or batteries for a new toy.

In recent months, he had an elementary school-aged serial shoplifter — caught on camera — and high school boys attempting to buy tobacco products with fake IDs. 

As GoLocal reported, in the cases involving children, Smith takes a unique approach — he contacts the schools and parents, not the police. 

“Typically I don’t try to get police involved,” said Smith. “I did when I first started but it doesn’t really help the juvenile. The time I did, the juvenile ended up getting kicked out of his foster home — but he came back years later to apologize to me.

This break-in took place after the store closed on Tuesday on this week.

 

 

Past Crimes at the Local Store

According to Smith, over the course of the past several months, he caught a ten-year-old girl on camera stealing items over a period of several weeks. 

“It was a local girl in the neighborhood who’d been coming for years, and her parents recently let her come herself. She started shoplifting — 5 or 6 different times, and we had it on video,” said Smith. 

“I called school principals to ask if they could ID the student, in order to get in touch with the parent,” said Smith, who said he was able to track her down. “When the girl came back one day, I asked if I could talk with her. She was nervous and apologetic, but I told her I wanted to have a meeting with her parents.”

“She begged and pleaded and said she would pay me back — it wasn’t much, maybe in the $25-$40 range in total, but I said it’s a serious offense and I said your folks need to know,” said Smith. “About 15 minutes later she came back with her mom, who has a small business and more than understood. So we talked, and I said to the girl this is serious but if you can be respectful I won’t ban you.”

Smith said the mother took matters into her own hands. 

“The mom said she was banning her daughter for a month herself. She insisted on giving me $40 but I said $20 was fine,” said Smith, who said the resolution took place “about a week ago.”

“I hope this is a happy ending for this girl,” said Smith.  This little girl's story is just one example of Smith's approach.