HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office emailed an alert to business owners Sunday afternoon, alerting them to a series of break-ins in the Saugatuck-Douglas area Thursday evening between 9-30 and 12:30
Uncommon Grounds was burgarized when the suspects broke the lock on a back window and entered the coffeeshop. They grabbed cash from the safe and registers. dismantled the camera system and took the recording device. Police said the suspect seemed familiar with the shop and took care to hide evidence of the break-in. And evidence technician did check for DNA, but in this case, the Sheriff’s officials indicated they may have hit a dead end.
The Star of Saugatuck was broken into between 8:30 Saturday night and 8:50 Sunday morning. In that case, the suspect cut a screen and broke a window lock on the water side of the building, crawling inside. Cash registers were empties, some liquor was stolen and in this case, police said it appears the culprit was familiar enough with the business to dismantle the security camera, unplugged the registers, the phone line and internetconnection, leaving the store and boat apparently undisturbed, police said.
Police are investigating whether the suspect is an ex-employee of both stores or whether there’s a person or people casing shops.
Allegan County Deputy Janel Hagerty’s email included the following advice to area shop owners: not to leave cash in registers or in the building, unless it’s someplace secure; to keep shops well-lit with existing lights or instaling outdoor motion lights and and cameras.
She encouraged people to report any suspicious activity that you may see. If it’s a person, she said do not approach them. Instead, do this:
– Get a good description of the people, estimating height and weight, as well as try to identify the clothing they are wearing.
– If you see a vehicle, jot down its description, as well as a license plate, if possible, and direction it is headed or the last place you saw it.
– The more information you can safely collect, the better. Hagerty suggested using your phone to snap a picture.
