Doctor breaks into Helene donation center, pawns stolen items for cash, NC cops say
A Florida doctor broke into a Hurricane Helene donation center and pawned stolen items for cash, North Carolina deputies told news outlets.
Mark Anthony Smith, 56, was arrested in late October after Asheville-area investigators reported finding $12,000 in stolen items in his U-Haul truck, according to the Citizen Times. News outlets didn’t list an attorney for the doctor.
The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office also accuses Smith of stealing more than $2,000 in belongings from the director of the nonprofit Hearts Hurt and selling some stolen items at a pawn shop, according to a WLOS report and arrest warrants the TV station posted online Nov. 4.
“It appears they were all things that are being passed out to families in need,” Detective David Reed told WLOS. “Camping stoves, Mr. Buddy heaters, propane tanks, generators — those were recovered at a local pawn shop where he had sold these items for money.”
Deputies launched their investigation after receiving reports of looting in the Swannanoa area of Western North Carolina, according to WYFF. The region experienced catastrophic flooding and wind damage from the deadly storm Hurricane Helene in late September.
After the storm, Dave Graham, who runs Hearts Hurt, told WLOS that Smith pretended to be a volunteer interested in helping people.
Deputies said Smith had been turned away from a donation center that also served as a place for people to sleep. But he returned, “urinated on a cot” and stole items worth thousands of dollars, according to sheriff’s office reports obtained by news outlets.
Smith was arrested and booked into jail. The Jacksonville, Florida, resident is charged with breaking or entering, felony larceny and other crimes, WSPA and WHNS reported.
The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on Nov. 5.
