A South Philly beekeeper’s equipment was stolen from his truck. He doesn’t think the thief will find it very useful.
The owner of Anna Bee’s Honey had his equipment stolen from his truck in South Philadelphia.
Dumped on the sidewalk is where Mark Berman, owner of Anna Bee’s Honey, thinks his equipment will end up after being stolen from his truck.
Berman headed to his truck, parked near Third and Manton Streets, Wednesday morning. On the ground, he found shattered pieces of the passenger seat window. His large camping bag was gone, along with the three beekeeping suits, hive tools, brushes, and testing equipment that traveled inside it.
Leaving the backpack in the car isn’t something he does often, Berman said. But, one time was enough to cost him a $700 loss.
Each suit is worth $100 to $170. He needs the suits for Anna Bee’s Honey “Be a Beekeeper for a Day,” a regular educational experience in which people learn about honey bees and interact with hives.
“I think they will keep the bag, but what’s inside it’s really no use to them,” Berman said.
It was a crime of opportunity that amazed him, considering that it was the first time in his 29 years in the Pennsport area that something like this happened to him.
In a Ring camera video uploaded to Facebook, a person can be seen walking by Berman’s truck a little after midnight. Something appears to catch the person’s eye while passing the windshield, making the person lean forward.
The figure, who was carrying a backpack and a box, looked around and into the passenger window. What happened next is not on the posted video, but the bandit broke the window, reached for the bag, and walked away with extra luggage.
Once Berman realized what transpired, later in the day, he attempted to call the police and file a report.
He said he waited outside for an hour, but no one came.
“I don’t have the luxury of waiting around, I had to go to work,” the beekeeper said.
Still wanting to prevent people in the neighborhood from experiencing something similar, Berman posted the story on Anna Bee’s Honey’s social media, along with a link for a GoFundMe page. He offered a bottle of raw honey to anyone who donated more than $50.
Donations started pouring in.
The goal of $750 was reached in less than two days, and Berman asked folks to stop donating.
“There are so many real crimes here in Philadelphia, I didn’t think I deserve it,” Berman said. “It was amazing to see people I don’t even know caring about the bees and wanting to support beekeeping.”
The new beekeeping equipment was set to arrive over the weekend.
Although the situation put a sting in his day, Berman hopes people see it as “a hiccup,” and instead turn the buzz toward the Grays Ferry-area bees he has been taking care of for nine years, and the educational resources that Anna Bee’s Honey provides.
To anyone with a vehicle, Berman advises: “Don’t make the same mistake I made, keep all your belongings in your house.”