Jemma and Michael Epstein last week foiled an armed bandit’s raid on their shop. 28342 Picture: Stewart Chambers
By Tania Martin and Melissa Grant
A COCKATOO general store owner last week chased an armed bandit from her shop.
Michael and Jemma Epstein awoke shortly after 4am last Wednesday 11 March to find their shop under attack.
A hooded bandit armed with a crow-bar had smashed his way through the front door of the general store in McBride Street.
“We heard the alarm go off and Jemma went to see what was happening,” Mr Epstein said.
“A man was standing at the counter.”
Mrs Epstein then yelled at the man ‘get out of my shop’.
Not far behind his wife, Mr Epstein came rushing into the shop to see what had happened.
The pair then chased the man out of the store over broken glass.
“He must have hit the window so hard. Glass went from the door all the way to back fridge which is a good 10 metres,” Mr Epstein said.
The break-in came just days after Mr Epstein returned from winning five medals at last month’s Australian Masters Games in Geelong.
Mr Epstein said it was disappointing to have something like this happen after such a great run at the games.
But he said it wasn’t the first time someone had broken into the store.
“It’s the 10th window we’ve had busted over the years but this is the first time we’ve seen someone in the store,” he said.
Mr Epstein said the shop had become a target for vandalism and thieves over the past few months.
So far this year, several hundred dollars worth of ice-cream has been stolen and the couple’s shed was broken into.
Mr Epstein said it was a real issue for the family especially as they live at the shop’s rear.
“It was bit scary for the kids … there is only a door between the house and the shop … anything could have happened,” he said.
Pakenham Criminal Investigation Unit’s Detective Sergeant Phil Jury said the man drove off in a late model red Commodore sedan.
He said the man was aged between 20 and 30, tall, of thin build and was wearing dark clothing with a hooded top at the time of the raid.
Anyone with information is urged to call Pakenham police on 5945 2500.
