a day ago
$1,000 in plants stolen from Gastonia shop; plants recovered, suspect arrested
A Gastonia business owner says her rare plants are back home and a suspect is in custody after she posted surveillance photos of the alleged thief on social media.
Lauren Dawsey-Smith, owner of Wild & Whimsy Living, said that on June 24, a man entered her shop at 231 E. Main Ave. around lunchtime and selected several plants as if he intended to buy them.
When employees weren't nearby, the man went into a back room and grabbed an exotic cactus and other mother plants that were given to Dawsey-Smith by her grandmother, Gladis Morris.
He then loaded about $1,000 in plants into a vehicle and left. The stolen plants included a Thai Consolation plant, a monstera ablo plant, two variegated burle mark plants and others.
After Dawsey-Smith shared security stills online, social media users identified the alleged culprit.
Jackson Cartner, 26, is charged with felony larceny in the Wild & Whimsy theft, according to Gastonia police. Court records show he also has theft charges pending in Alamance County.
Dawsey-Smith said she went with police to the home Cartner shared with his mother.
"When we were on the property and we saw the plants, police arrested him for another theft in another county," Dawsey-Smith said.
As for the plants, Dawsey-Smith said she returned to the property days later and was able to retrieve them from the property.
"This definitely won't change anything. If anything, we might be a little more alert that maybe, not everyone has the most pure intentions just because we do," she said. "The community coming together has reignited a passion in me. We really do have a lot of good, wonderful people who wanted to help... If anything, I just feel like it has created ties to the community even stronger."
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gastonia shop owner recovers stolen heirloom plants
