Desperately seeking laptop, with pot as a lure

Last month, Kurt Shore was walking out of his advertising business on Umbria Street in Manayunk when he realized he’d made a mistake. He’d switched on the motion-detector alarm while an employee was still inside the building.

He dropped his briefcase in his car, ran inside and turned the alarm off.  Crisis averted, or so he thought. 

But two hours later, he found his laptop was missing. Shore drove back to Manayunk to search his office. No luck.

His only hope was the outdoor security camera. And, yes, its lens did catch the scene as Shore was running into the building. As he did, an unidentifiable male hopped out of a passing black sedan, opened Shore’s car door, snatched the computer and took off. Just like that.

Watching the footage, Shore says, the panic and anger set in.

“My entire life is on the computer,” he said. “I don’t like paper.  My password document was open, all my kids’ pictures … so they know everything about me, if they were that kind of hacker.”

He cancelled his credit cards, as a precaution. The police couldn’t retrieve any fingerprints, but suggested it may have been someone stealing to feed a drug habit. Recognizing that city police had bigger cases to crack, Shore decided to take action. 

As president and chief creative officer of D4 Creative Group,  Shore did what he knows how to do: get creative:

“I decided to put up a poster that would get a lot of attention, which is the fabulous drug stash as a reward.”

The poster features a prominent picture of a pipe, a stash of marijuana, surveillance photos of the crime and a large headline that reads ‘REWARD: FABULOUS DRUG STASH!’

Shore said he views this poster as a way of taking a stand and refusing to be a victim:

“It’s kind of my statement, my way of taking action, like don’t mess around with my family, my business, you messed around with the wrong person.”

Shore is quick to explain he has no intention of actually giving cannabis as a reward.  He just wanted something eye-catching. To legally protect himself, he added a disclaimer in fine print, “Actual reward may vary.”

The poster has been distributed throughout Center City, West Philadelphia and in a few places in Manayunk.

So far, no one has called with any information regarding the suspect. However, some car experts have offered their best guess at the model of the car. Many seem to think it’s a dark-colored Altima or Maxima.

Shore says if his computer is returned, he will not press charges.  He just wants his bytes back.

What about if someone wants the weed as a reward? Well, Shore says he will give an equivalent amount of cash for one ounce of pot, once he figures out how much that is.

According to priceofweed.com, an ounce of marijuana goes for anywhere from $129 to $429 in Pennsylvania, depending on quality.

Anyone with information is asked to call 215-483-4855 or e-mail info@d4creative.com