Bo’s Home Decor is located at 602 E Main St., Battle Ground.
Battle Ground Police have arrested the suspected burglar who broke into a Main Street business last week.
The city announced the arrest of Christopher Fettig, 27, of Longview, in connection to the burglary of Bo’s Home Decor that happened some time over the last weekend in April. The burglary was discovered the morning of April 30, according to the city on Battle Ground.
The investigation turned up Fettig on May 2 who was already in custody on an unrelated drug charge; he was charged with second-degree theft and burglary and booked into Clark County Jail.
Kristina Schlappi, the shop’s owner, said the thieves broke in through the backdoor before stealing boxes and bags full of merchandise.
“They took any box that we had, any duffle bag, any big thing that they could fill, and filled it with anything they could,” she said.
While many things were stolen, Schlappi said the biggest loss was the baby clothes.
Another devastating loss was the necklaces that just arrived at the shop.
“I had just ordered these customizable thumbprint necklaces which were $400 at wholesale — they stole all of them.”
With 40 local vendors selling items at Bo’s, far more people than just Schlappi are affected by the break-in. The jewelry, clothes, blankets, painted signs, champagne, cash register, and an iPad, tallied up to the thieves getting away with about $2,500 worth of merchandise.
The loss devastated Schlappi. Before the break-in, she spent many nights rearranging her shelves, cleaning, and stocking, but never felt unsafe there.
“For something like this to happen really sets you back and gives you an uneasy feeling too,” she said. “I always felt safe, ‘no worries we’re in Battle Ground a small nice community on Main Street.’ I wasn’t afraid of anything and now it’s just scary that someone invaded us like that.”
To help with the recovery costs a friend of Schlappi’s made a GoFundMe account, raising about $1,200 as of press deadline. So far the money has been used to change the locks and install a new security system, Schlappi is confident about her businesses recovery.
“It won't be terrible, we have a really good community and people really came in to support us,” she said. “It won't be too big of a set back hopefully.”
The business’ insurance does not cover vendors losses, and while there were other coverage options Schlappi could have claimed, she said it made more financial sense not to. The break-in is currently under investigation by the Battle Ground Police Department.
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