Homeless man charged with St. Susan Center refrigeration unit destruction
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A homeless Jamestown man has been charged with destroying the cooling system at the St. Susan Center in August.
Jurall R. Reid, 33, was charged Monday with second-degree criminal mischief and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Reid was arraigned in Jamestown City Court and released.
City police responded to a report from the St. Susan Center manager on August 17 of a criminal mischief complaint at the center. At 5:34 p.m. Aug. 16, the St. Susan Center cooling system was destroyed. Video surveillance footage showed a man had walked to the where the cooling system is located, which is outside the building, and removed various copper parts and the radiator, which destroyed the system. The cooling system kept about $4,860 worth of perishable food cold. Once the parts were removed the refrigerator stopped working and the food was destroyed.
Police officers said Reid had received meals from the St. Susan Center several times before the Aug. 17 incident.
The video footage was put out on social media, which led police to receive tips that Reid was allegedly responsible for destroying the refrigeration system while other surveillance footage allegedly showed Reid possessing the cooling system parts and selling them for money. Police say Reid was in jail when his identity was discovered.
“The St. Susan’s Center personnel would like people to know that acts like these will not be tolerated because too many people depend on their services,” city police officers said in a news release.