CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — A North Charlotte computer repair business said it plans to call each of its customers soon after someone broke inside and set the place on fire Sunday night.
Police said someone stole $1,500 worth of computer electronics, but the fire caused more than $100,000 in additional damage.
"Obviously, we can't sell out of this facility at the moment," said owner Jon Foster. "Employees can't come to work. It's just not a good situation."
Foster said he was working with his insurance company to determine what might be recovered, but he did not think he would be able to recover much because of all the smoke damage.
Investigators were unsure about a motive for the fire, though they did not rule out the possibility that it may have been set to cover up the burglary. Channel 9 learned that the computer used to save images from the store's surveillance system melted in the fire. However, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police detectives recovered the hard drive to see what could be salvaged.
Malcolm Zapata stopped by Monday morning to pick up a hard drive component he had put on hold last Friday and was thankful he could get it.
"It's a little charred too," he said, pointing out some water inside the packaging.
Slayton Computers started along Central Avenue in 1983 as an electronics store. It changed addresses over the years, moving to its current location on Reagan Drive 15 years ago.
Sean Slayton, who remembers his family founding the company when he was 11 years old, sold the business to Foster in 2008. Even though he no longer owns it, Slayton said it was hard to see the place go up in
"Something like this happens, it's just tragic," he said. "There's just a lot to deal with--getting back in business, you have employees you try to take care of."
Slayton said he thought damage estimates would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, several times more than what the amount listed on the police report.
Danielle Patterson said when you consider all the pictures, documents and other files that may be lost forever, the cost is priceless. She drove by Monday, hoping to pick up her repaired computer.
"That's how I do all my work," she said. "My job, everything."
Foster said his company was in the process of contacting customers about what to do next.
If you have any information about what might have happened or who was responsible, please call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
WSOC
