Fire victims’ donation jar at Jaazz Salon stolen

It isn’t the amount of money thieves stole from the Jaazz salon counter that has owner Mark Brado mad: It’s the principle.

Jaazz, on the corner of Riverside Avenue and Washington Street, is raising money for a Spokane couple who lost everything when their South Hill home burned down Aug. 8. Two small jars stand on the counter in front of fliers showing photos of the couple and their young sons, with a couple bucks inside each.

One of the jars was snatched Tuesday when two “street kids” wandered into the salon at 11 a.m., asking to use the restroom, Brado said. As one of them was leaving the building, she grabbed the jar and sprinted. Brado said the receptionist working the front counter tried to chase after her but couldn’t catch her.

“It’s charity money,” Brado said. “How desperate do you have to be to steal money that’s for charity?”

There was only about $20 in the jar, Brado said, and the salon is trying to raise $1,000 for the couple.

“Our clients have been amazing,” Brado said. “They’ve been dropping tens and twenties in.”

Jesse and Emily Shankle, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, have both previously worked for Jaazz and several other salons. Jesse Shankle is studying engineering at Eastern Washington University and Emily is a part-time hairstylist.

Emily Shankle and their two young boys were inside the home when it caught fire, quickly spreading throughout the home and jumping to two nearby houses. Emily Shankle and her sons were able to escape with only the clothes they were wearing, according to the Jaazz fliers. They also lost their car in the fire.

Brado doesn’t intend to file a police report since it was such a small amount of money.

“I hope that the girl that stole the money used it for food or something good,” he said. “The money was given for something good and it would suck if she was using it to buy booze or cigarettes or meth.”