Business Owners and UNM Face Fallout From Vandalism

Business security concerns in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, have intensified following a break-in at a salon and the theft of approximately $10,000 in electrical equipment, while a separate civil rights lawsuit against the University of New Mexico faces a dispute over a former campus security officer's law enforcement credentials. Both cases were reported on October 9, 2026, and involve questions about security and accountability.

In North Battleford, salon owner Lavigne described damage to her business after a woman broke windows to enter the building. Separately, Big Horn Electric owner Garron Horn reported that equipment disappeared from a locked job box at a worksite, raising concerns about protecting his company's assets.

Security footage from the salon showed the woman breaking a rear window before leaving and smashing another window after finding interior doors locked. She then entered the building, cutting herself on broken glass and leaving blood in the staff room and office, according to Lavigne.

The footage also showed the woman taking juice boxes and frozen strawberries from a refrigerator and placing them near the back door. Lavigne said the woman was searching through checks and drawers in her office when Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers arrived and arrested her.

Lavigne described the circumstances surrounding the arrest to explain how she learned about the police response.

“I own the house next door to the salon, and my renter was texting me, and she’s like, ‘Hey, the cops have your building surrounded…they’re calling somebody out…they’re in handcuffs.’”

She questioned why the intruder selected those items despite the business having a liquor license.

“I have a liquor licence. Like, there’s wine, there’s beer, there’s hard alcohol. She chose the juice boxes?”

Lavigne criticized North Battleford's municipal leadership over what she characterized as an inadequate response to drug use and homelessness. She also said the financial burden of remaining at the current property had become difficult to justify.

“I am absolutely disgusted at the city mayor and council and how they’re avoiding talking about the drug and homeless person issue,” she said. “I’ve got one year left on my loan for this place, then I’m out, I’m done. This is ridiculous. It’s costing me more to stay here than it would if I build a new building and pay less.”

Horn said his concerns about security grew after an employee discovered that equipment worth about $10,000 had disappeared from a large metal job box secured with specialized locks and chains. The employee brought the box to the worksite on Thursday and reported the missing equipment to Horn on Monday morning.

Horn initially struggled to believe the report before inspecting the empty box himself.

“I thought he was playing a prank on me. I went there and our box was just empty.”

Although Horn said this was the first time his equipment had been stolen, the incident has affected his willingness to advertise his business. He said the nature of electrical work could make the company a target for thieves seeking copper and tools.

“I don’t have signs on my shop… I’m scared of people knowing that I’m an electrical business because electrical means copper and tools,” said Garron Horn, owner of Big Horn Electric. “We just moved into a new fairly big shop, and I would like to have a storefront, but at the same time, I don’t want anyone knowing that I exist just for that reason.”

North Battleford officials said they could not comment on active RCMP investigations.

In a separate case in New Mexico, former University of New Mexico Ph.D. student Dr. Ben Gerstner is pursuing a lawsuit against the university's Board of Regents over alleged harassment involving a pride flag during his final year on campus. The case followed repeated incidents in which the flag was allegedly torn down and marked with anti-gay slurs, including references to AIDS and pedophilia.

A former campus security officer admitted to the actions after being caught on camera and subsequently resigned, according to KOAT. The officer did not face criminal charges. Gerstner's attorney, Jacob Candelaria, said the university was disputing responsibility for the incident.

Candelaria described the alleged conduct and its connection to Gerstner's sexual orientation.

“[The former campus security officer was] calling my client an AIDS spreader, a pedophile, simply because he was proud of expressing his identity as a gay man on campus,” said Jacob Candelaria, Gerstner's attorney.

Candelaria also criticized the university's response to the lawsuit.

“UNM, as one of its defenses, has now trotted out this notion that the campus security officer was actually a commissioned law enforcement officer,” Candelaria said.

The university's legal team argues that the lawsuit does not comply with the New Mexico Civil Rights Act because the officer was a commissioned law enforcement officer. Legal expert John Day explained that the statute imposes a deadline for submitting claims.

“The claim has to be brought within a year of the incident that's given rise to the lawsuit,” Day said.

Candelaria disputed the university's position, maintaining that the plaintiffs met the legal notice requirement before filing their case.

“We actually complied with the notice provision of the law before we filed suit.”

He also challenged whether the former officer had ever received a law enforcement commission, citing questions about the individual's authority and professional credentials.

“All the evidence points to this as an individual who has never held a law enforcement commission, does not have the power of arrest, for example, can't walk into Metro Court and bring a criminal complaint. This is a security guard, basically, not a law enforcement officer,” Candelaria said.

KOAT reviewed the university's job description for campus security officers, which lists a high school diploma or GED as the minimum qualification without specifying police experience or law enforcement certification.

Candelaria submitted a public records request under the Inspection of Public Records Act to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to verify the former officer's credentials. He said the department did not respond to the request and subsequently faced a separate lawsuit alleging noncompliance with public records law.

Candelaria said the dispute over access to records could impose additional costs on taxpayers.

“These are very basic records. This should be as simple as running a search on a computer or finding a file in a filing cabinet. And DPS decided to completely ignore us,” Candelaria said.

He also described the financial consequences of the additional legal proceedings.

“The loser here [is] not only my client who suffers delay, but it's the taxpayer, because the taxpayer is gonna pay my fees for having to bring this lawsuit,” Candelaria said.

KOAT reported that the former campus security officer did not respond to requests for comment and attorneys representing the Board of Regents did not respond to multiple inquiries. A university spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing litigation. The Department of Public Safety acknowledged the lawsuit but said it had not been served and that it had no record of the officer ever holding a New Mexico law enforcement certification.