ALGOMA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (March 24, 2014)– A rash of burglaries in Kent County Saturday night into Sunday morning has detectives looking for answers from Gaines Township to Plainfield and Algoma Township.
One of the burglaries happened at the Domino’s Pizza on 14 Mile Road in Algoma Township, another next door at Pinnacle Popcorn.
We talked to still another business owner who was also broken into who said it was unusual what the thieves there took.
She wanted to remain anonymous, but told us the stolen items included hair products, a personal laptop computer and a coffee maker.
“I was very surprised to hear how many there were in the area,” said the business owner. “It makes you very uneasy, if it can happen here, anywhere isn’t off-limits.”
In the cases, the burglars appeared to use a metal instrument to pry open the doors, shattering the glass and plexi-glass.
“That was the same with us,” said the business owner.
At some businesses, it took much of Sunday to clean up the broken glass from the shattered doors and windows.
“They are forcing their way in either by busting out the front door or prying their way in,” said Captain Kevin Kelly of the Kent County Sheriff’s Office.
“Either the businesses are hair salons or restaurants and I don’t know what the particular advantage to targeting those businesses are, but we certainly encourage businesses to do security checks within their own businesses to make it much more difficult for these crimes to happen,” said Kelly.
The business owner we talked to said it shatters the sense of security in a neighborhood not typically known for crime.
“Very rare we were very surprised,” she said.
Kelly advised business owners to put good quality locks on their doors and windows.
He also said it can be helpful to clear out the cash drawer every night and leave it open so that if thieves look through the window, they see it’s already been cleared out for the night and there is no money in it.
He’s also asking residents to report suspicious cars that are loitering in business parking lots late at night or in the early morning hours.
Other break-ins took place at Carmelo’s Restaurant, and a Subway on Kalamazoo Avenue.
