Thieves steal nearly $50K worth of wigs meant for cancer patients

The owner of a Georgia wig store said he's devastated after thieves stole dozens of wigs meant for cancer patients.

WSB-TV′s Mike Petchenik was in Alpharetta, where thieves smashed through the doors at the LNY Boutique and stole nearly $50,000 worth of wigs on Feb. 29.

Owner Lawrence Yates said the wigs were meant for people who really need them.

"Eighty percent of our business is people going through chemo, alopecia, people who actually need help," Yates said. "I'm still trying to swallow it and digest what happened."

Yates said the pair of thieves systematically stole right off the mannequins and left them strewn throughout the store. The whole heist took less than two minutes.

"They stole all of them They stole human. They stole synthetic," Yates said. "It appears they were here before and they knew what they were looking for."

Police told Petchenik they are reviewing surveillance footage and keeping an eye out for an illegal sale.

"I know that some of these wigs can be very high in value, so I imagine if you set up a shop somewhere else, whether it's a flea market, you can probably get a return on your investment," Lawrence said.

Officer Jeff Ross said the owners did what they could, but determined thieves are hard to stop.

"If you can have overnight security, that's always a bonus," Ross said. "They took precautions. They had surveillance footage and an alarm system."

Now that the shock has subsided, Yates said he'll pick up the pieces and move on.

"The hardships I face is to restock," Yates said. "We see a lot of people every week, and they typically come here because we have the largest selection in the area."

Police are asking anyone with information to give them a call.

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