It's hard to know what might have motivated the 17-year-old arrested in the spring break-ins in Lonaconing. The business owners said the juvenile got about $200 from Kelly's Tavern and about $300 from R&J Creations, including money the owners' 8-year-old niece was saving for a class trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo. The owners of Geo. Ternent & Sons said he tried to get in through a back door but did not succeed. Their video surveillance system captured an image of the youth looking into the store, said Scott Ternent, great-grandson of the original owner.
"It's getting worse and worse," Scott Ternent said, standing next to the video screen that shows images from 14 security cameras placed inside and outside the store. He said the store had the system put in two or three years ago amid a spate of shoplifting. "It's awful. It's mostly drugs."
