Charges laid after 6,000 medical masks allegedly stolen from retirement home

VANCOUVER – A man has been charged after police say more than 6,000 face masks and containers of hand sanitizer were stolen from a Vancouver retirement home.

Const. Tania Visintin says the alleged theft happened April 29 at Terraces on 7th.

Visintin says a storage area was allegedly broken into and surveillance video shows a man loading boxes of face masks and hand sanitizer into a car with the help of a second man before driving away.

She says face masks and containers of hand sanitizer were sold on social media.

Police say 28-year-old Jesse Coutlee has been charged with break-and-enter and possession of property obtained by crime.

Visintin says charges have been recommended to the Crown against the second unidentified suspect.

She says health-care workers put their lives on the line during the COVID-19 pandemic and depend on masks and sanitizer.

“Having this vital equipment taken from them is very upsetting and frustrating,” she says in a statement.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2020.