Halloween Persuades Real Bandits To Burglarize and Steal Safes
There have been several break-ins in multiple stores around the country. With Halloween coming up and everyone preparing for the weekend fun, it’s no wonder why thieves are deciding to raid stores, specifically Halloween stores. It’s the obvious target for a thief since many people are spending money on costumes, decorations, masks, props and other Halloween accessories. If you run a store yourself, even if it’s not Halloween-related, then you should prepare for the worse. There have been multiple break-ins and thefts nationwide in October alone coming into the Halloween weekend. Make sure you have the necessary security and safety equipment to prevent such disasters.
About a week ago in Northern Michigan, there were two break-ins at two different Halloween costume stores. One was located in Traverse City and another in Petoskey where both stores were raided and thousands of dollars in cash and valuables were stolen. On a Monday evening in Traverse City, the County Sheriff’s reported that the burglar gained access inside by breaking in through the back entrance. From there the thief was able to carry out two large safes. Then the following Tuesday night in Petoskey, another safe was stolen at that location. One of the employees of the Halloween Stores, Joe Richie, commented saying, “Just the fact that somebody out there didn’t work for it, took the easy way out and took from someone else.” The investigators of this crime scene noticed that the suspects who raided the stores were familiar with the operations of the store and knew the exact location of the safes. A few days later, the two suspects were arrested and charged for stealing the safes and other merchandise from both Halloween stores. Officers from Petoskey were working with Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office where the two men were from. From the information that was gathered they were able to issue a search warrant at one of the homes located in Charlevoix County. From there the items were recovered from both the 22-year-old and 32-year-old suspects, both residing in Charlevoix. Fortunately, the officers were able to obtain most of the missing items and the safes that were stolen.
Recently, the police are looking for the suspect who raided several fast-food restaurants and was able to break into at least 30 different safes in North Texas. Surveillance cameras have caught the suspect breaking into a Bedford Subway sandwich shop. Officers have said that the man has attempted to break into the shops at least five times. The investigators have tagged the suspect as the “Subway Bandit,” as he broke into many different sandwich shops. But they also figured out he was also involved in many other restaurant break-ins. One of the Bedford police Lt. Kirk Roberts said, “He knows what he’s doing, he knows how to not leave evidence behind. And once he gains entry, he knows what to do to make things difficult for us.” The investigators are hoping that the surveillance tapes will provide enough evidence and information to arrest the thief. Lt. Kirk Roberts added about the footage, “These are pretty good, somebody is going to know him if they see him.” The “Subway Bandit” has robbed fast-food restaurants in Allen, McKinney, Plano, Denton, Garland, Irving, Arlington Bedford, Colleyville and Grapevine.
A Group of Men Caught On Surveillance Rolling Down Safe
Three Men Steal Safe - Courtesy of BBC News
In our previous post, you just saw how easily a man stole a safe from a multiple story building. We just found another footage of men who were caught on surveillance video. While making their way out, they decided to roll the safe down a flight of steps and hauling it into their get away vehicle. There were three men in the scene and these thieves raided a Lincolnshire nightclub of Skegness, which is a seaside town in Lincolnshire, England.
This footage was caught on April 25th, when the three men drove up to the LA Café in an unusual getaway vehicle, a gold Fiat Doblo. They arrived just as the staff left the nightclub three minutes after. The suspects forced their way through the back fire door entrance where they stole two safes. The two safes contained a combined amount of £30,000 equivalent to $43,250 in cash. The surveillance tapes that were released by the police show the two thieves dropping a safe down a flight of stairs and picked up by a third suspect reeling it into the vehicle.
While looking at the footage and how quickly these men were able to get in and out of the complex, Taj Bola, the owner of the LA Café, said that they seemed to know what they were doing. “They were in and out very quickly indeed,” said Bola. “They knew exactly where to go and what they were doing.”
Not surprisingly, the Fiat Doblo the suspects were driving was stolen four days prior to stealing the safes. Det Con Lee St Quinto of the Lincolnshire Police realized that the getaway vehicle was an unusual choice saying, “The Fiat Doblo is a family car and this one had been converted into a camper van. It was stolen four days before the raid and we are keen to know where it was during this time.” Driving an odd car like the Fiat Doblo would have certainly capture the police’s attention, but then the next day, it was found burned and abandoned at a coastal car park.
This incident isn’t all that much different compared to our last post. It’s very discouraging to see a burglary like this happen in just a matter of a few minutes. All that hard earned money that this nightclub put in day and day out now has disappeared. Luckily, as any business owner should have, the suspects were caught on surveillance. We sure hope that the Lincolnshire police will be able to gather enough evidence from the crime scene to arrest these suspects and recover the stolen money. These are the types of incidents why having not only a safe is necessary, but purchasing heavy-duty safes.
As you can see from the video, these men were able to scoop up the safe with ease and getaway in minutes. With a heavy duty safe, one that is built from steel and pre-drilled anchor holes, it would have made it a lot more difficult for the thieves to steal the safe. Most sturdier and heavy-duty steel safes weigh over 500 pounds and can be anchored onto the floor for added security. If you’re storing a large amount of cash just like the nightclub, then investing in a high quality safe shouldn’t be an issue at all. You can save yourself the hassle and save yourself from losing all your hard earned cash.
You can check out the video by clicking the link below.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-13767869
Theater Burglarized, 2nd Theft in the Past Week in South Carolina
There was another crime scene that was reported just a few days ago after another similar burglary occurred just a few days ago before this one at the Seafare Restaurant. Both burglaries are similar, but no official word has been reported if the two are indeed connected. The Conway Police Department needs help from the residents of South Carolina to identify two suspects that raided a theater.
Catina Hipp, who is a spokeswoman for the Conway Police Department, reported that officers responded to a burglary scene at Frank’s Theater, which is located at 220 Rivertown Rd. that occurred around noon on Monday. The manager told the officers that when he arrived at the burglary scene, he saw the office door damaged and the safe cut open. When the officers began investigating the crime scene, they discovered the exterior light and alarm system were disabled.
The police were able to examine the surveillance footage and found that the two suspects forced their way into the office. As they gained access inside, there were seen disabling the security system and then cutting into a large safe around 3:42 a.m. Monday morning. The suspects were dressed in dark clothing with hoods and masks to conceal their identities. A second smaller safe was also broken into, as they were seen removing the hinges and was located in the main office. A machine full of change was also broken into during the time of the burglary.
All in all, a total of about $6,000 was stolen plus $6,000 more in damages alone. Hipp discovered that one of the suspects had been carrying a bag on their left shoulder, while the other suspect was holding a tool in their right hand. Hipp mentioned that the officers are still in the process of obtaining all the surveillance videos to examine the footage. As soon as they become available, they will release some of the stills to the public by showing it through their local news station WMBF, to help with the investigation.
This has been the second burglary that had occurred within the past week. The same break in was approached with a similar fashion in disabling the security systems and then gaining access into the office to cut open the safes. Before this incident occurred, two other men were caught on a surveillance tape that showed them disabling the security system and raiding the Seafare Restaurant in which they also cut open safes stealing an estimated amount of $20,000. However, no connection has been made yet with the two burglaries.
Burglary Investigation in South Carolina
The police detectives of Horry County Police Department’s Property Crimes Section are looking for more information regarding the two suspects who were recently involved in raiding a restaurant just last week.
Just this past Friday (May 20th, 2011), the police officers of Horry County Police Department’s Uniform Patrol Division reacted to an emergency call from the Seafare Restaurant on North Kings Highway in the Myrtle Beach area of Horry county alarming them of a burglary.
When the police had arrived, they found out two white males who wore black clothing and ski masks broke into the restaurant after terminating the surveillance system from outside. When the suspected were inside, they went into the office in which they destroyed the alarm and telephone system. Then they broke into two separate safes with cutter tools. Over $30,000 in cash was stolen from the restaurant plus $10,000 in damage during the incident. Detectives are now beginning investigation on the crime scene and any information they can get to reveal the suspects’ identities.
The detectives are asking anyone with information that can aid them in identifying the suspects to contact them at 915-5350 or call 915-TIPS (8477) if you would like to remain anonymous.
This is devastating news for the restaurant owners who now have to go through all the trouble in trying to find the thieves. That is a large amount of money that was stolen and finding your restaurant in shackles must be heart wrenching. Not only do they have to deal with the stolen money they’ve earned, but also how much it will costs to replace and rebuild all the damage that was caused. It’s difficult to see your restaurant broken into, even with tight security. This is another prime example why you should have the best in security surveillance.
Since The Quake Over 2,000 Safes Have Been Found In Miyagi, Japan
Since the devastating earthquake disaster that wrecked the Miyagi Prefecture, reports have mentioned that over 2,000 safes have been turned in. That is a pretty high number considering that in other countries including the United States, not many people would have the decency to turn in a safe, especially after a disaster such as this one. Many of the safes have remained unclaimed.
Most of the safes were discovered by the people in the area and by police officers. According to the police there has been an estimated 1,000 safes that could be opened with crowbars and other tools. What they have found inside is hundreds of millions of yen; even one safe contained 70 million yen. The other safes that remain closed probably contain a great amount of money the police say.
The reason for opening the safes is to be able to identify the true owner of the safe through identification documents that could be also be contained inside the safe. Based on the information from bankbooks, deeds, insurance or other confidential records, the police’s accounting team will be able to determine their owners.
The police will also take on the challenge of matching up the lost safes based on the owner’s lost report description including the manufacturer, size and how much money was contained in the safe. Though, the police have only found 60% of the rightful owners to the opened safes. The difficult task in matching up the safe with the owners is that most of the safe did not have the manufacture name or separate names of the individuals that would normally be easy to trace to the owners. Many of the safes have also rusted or have been damaged significantly that has changed their appearance after the earthquake and tsunami, which makes it difficult to match according to the original description.
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