After ‘horrendous’ smash-and-grab robbery, Hamilton jeweller invests in new defence — fog

Months after robbers raided a Hamilton jewelry store, held the owner at gunpoint and beat him with a hammer, the small business has stepped up security in a new way. 

Now if anyone tries to break into Jean-Pierre Verbunt’s Ancaster Jewellers, the store will be flooded with a dense fog within seconds.

“We need to be showing criminals that we’re a little harder than they suspect,” said Verbunt. “You have more to deal with than just walking, grabbing things.” 

Last December, a pickup truck reversed through the store’s front window. Half a dozen people entered the store, with one holding a gun. Verbunt said he immediately hit the alarms and called 911.

He hit the gun out of the man’s hand, he said, and was struck in the face with a hammer. His 33-year-old son, who also works at the store, “jumped in” and one of the men hit him in the back with a sledgehammer, Verbunt said. 

“It was a horrendous fight, especially with my son there,” he said. 

The men and teens fled when police arrived. 

Verbunt and his son have both mostly recovered from their injuries. The store was fixed up and reopened two weeks later.

But Verbunt has felt anxious about their safety ever since. 

Derek Hopkins is CEO of Connect and Protect, based out of nearby Burlington, Ont. He said he recently got approval to sell smoke screens in Canada and has already sold out of the 50 units he ordered from the U.K. It’s more commonly used there and in Europe.

“One of the downfalls of the security industry [in Canada] currently is it’s very passive,” Hopkins said.

For example, a traditional security system may alert people something is happening, but doesn’t necessarily stop the crime from being carried out. 

“We deploy smoke screen units to be able to deter intrusions and violent robberies and provide a physical barrier,” he said. 

When the system is triggered, smoke fills the area and can last up to 45 minutes. It’s a water-based fog that doesn’t impact eyes or lungs, or leave a residue behind. 

“There are a lot of vulnerable jewelry stores and retail businesses that are really rethinking what they’re doing,” Hopkins said. “This provides peace of mind.” 

The starting cost for one smoke screen unit is $1,500, plus installation, he said. 

In the past year, police across Ontario have reported a number of smash-and-grab robberies.

An Ottawa jewelry store was targeted three times, most recently in June. Three teen boys were arrested in June in connection to three other smash-and-grab robberies in Mississauga and Brampton. 

The smash-and-grab robbery at Verbunt’s store caused $85,000 in damages, he said. About $120,000 in jewelry was also stolen — some of it recovered the next day on a neighbouring property’s front lawn. 

Following the robbery, police tracked down four adults between 18 and 20 years old and one teen. They were all from the Toronto area of Scarborough. 

They were charged with robbery, disguise with intent, mischief over $5,000, theft over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime, police said.

They continued to look for a sixth man and did not respond before publication about whether he’d been arrested.