Army & Navy sued for alleged shoplift frame-up

Woman claims employees planted evidence in her bag, falsely arrested her

Vancouver Sun, May 7, 2004

NEW WESTMINSTER – A New Westminster woman is suing the Army & Navy department store, claiming that store employees planted evidence in her shopping bag in order to frame her for shoplifting.
In a lawsuit filed this week in B.C. Supreme Court, Christine Mundrian claims store employees conspired to create false evidence by having a cashier fail to charge for one of the items the customer had selected for purchase.
The item not rung in at the cash register was placed in her bag as part of the conspiracy to falsely accuse Mundrian of theft after she left the store, the lawsuit claims.
Mundrian claims she was handcuffed, dragged back into the store, and taken to a locked room where she was detained for three hours before she was released.
Although she was never charged, the incident caused her emotional injury, she claims.
The lawsuit claims the conduct of the store and its employees was “outrageous and reprehensible… The defendants wilfully and knowingly framed the plaintiff for theft and falsely arrested and imprisoned her.”
The employees who allegedly took part in the conspiracy are named in the lawsuit as store detectives Jason Adrian Turgasows and Rebecca Cadger, sales clerk Kamjeet Perba, and two employees whose names are unknown.
The alleged incident occurred on May 9, 2002, at the Army & Navy store in New Westminster. Mundrian later complained to police about the matter, which led to Turgasows being charged in B.C. Supreme Court with assault and unlawful confinement; the charges were stayed last Jan. 6.
Mundrian now is suing the Army & Navy for aggravated damages and negligence, claiming it failed to properly train and supervise security staff at the New Westminster store.
Army & Navy declined to comment on the lawsuit.
“If the allegations in this case are found in court to have occurred, it is shocking and disturbing,” said Vancouver lawyer John Cameron, who is representing Mundrian.
Cameron, a former Vancouver police officer and store detective, said he is confident in advancing the woman’s civil lawsuit, based on the evidence gathered by police after Mundrian complained about the conduct of store staff.
“Having that information in hand, I have no hesitation in advancing my client’s statement of claim,” he said.