Saint John thieves steal poppy money

Three men in their 20s are expected to face charges after stealing a poppy can containing about $200 from a convenience store near the Saint John airport.

The incident was caught on videotape on Monday, and the men are expected to appear in Saint John provincial court in January.

Dale Mott, the owner of the Willow Grove Convenience Store on Route 111, said he turned his back to reach for cigarettes, when one the men grabbed the poppy can set out by the local legion.

"I knew it was very full, because on Friday our poppies were out and I had called for a refill," Mott said.

"I said [to the legion], 'Look, can you replace the can, 'cause it's very full,' and they didn't have a spare can with them."

The RCMP say the poppy can contained about $200.

RCMP Cpl. Pat Cole said 90 minutes after the incident, two 29-year-old men from Saint John and a 23-year-old man from Quispamsis were caught by police, trying to cash in a large amount of coins at the Hampton Save-Easy.

Cole said the videotape evidence from the store is clear.

"On the video itself, you see the three suspects and the one is distracting the owner, while the third one reached out, took the can, put it inside his jacket and left," Cole said.

The robbery comes a day after vandals in Fredericton damaged part of the capital city's cenotaph.

The cenotaph is the site of the main Remembrance Day event in the provincial capital. A three-metre-high granite cross atop the monument was toppled to the ground and smashed into pieces.

Fredericton police are investigating the act of vandalism.