Petersburg Police are recommending businesses increase their security measures after a series of burglaries in downtown Petersburg over the last month.
Petersburg Police Chief Jim Kerr confirmed that the department is actively investigating burglaries at four businesses.
The first target was El Zarape Restaurant, which was hit about a month ago.
A few days later, The 420, a marijuana dispensary on Main Street, was also burglarized. Jason Miller manages the shop. He said when he came in that morning, the cash drawer had been pried open.
“And we do keep our $300 daily for the next day in there,” he said. “We’ve never had much of an issue, because we’re in Petersburg.”
Miller already had security lights installed at The 420, but he’s added more. And he has lots of security cameras. He said he hopes the footage he turned over to police will help.
“You can see him pretty well,” he said.
Miller says that three to four thousand dollars worth of goods were missing from the shelves — and there was a couple thousand dollars worth of damage to the building, as well. Three separate doors had been pried open to break into the business. Miller said his insurance will cover the damages – but he has other concerns.
“For me, it makes me worry about not just myself – my employees that are here,” he said. “I gotta worry about them.”
Jim Floyd manages Hammer and Wikan Hardware on Main Street. He said that while the business hasn’t been hit, he’s taking extra precautions.
“We obviously don’t leave cash laying around because that seems to be what they’re after from the rumors on the street,” he said. “It’s not easily accessible for anybody, including ourselves.”
And he shares some of Miller’s concerns.
“A lot of efforts I did weren’t just to secure our property, but it was to protect our employees,” he said.
A week or so after The 420 burglary, someone broke into the Petersburg Moose Lodge. Security camera footage shows one person looking for cash. That footage has been turned over to the Petersburg Police Department as well.
And most recently, employees at The Blomster Hus, a flower and gift shop on Main Street, arrived at work to find that their cash register had been pried open.
Police are investigating the incidents separately, but Police Chief Kerr says there are similarities. Each burglary happened after hours, and each seemed to target cash. Kerr recommends some simple precautions for business owners.
“When the businesses close up their till at night, just leave the till open with all the money out and set the cash drawer right there on top so that if you look in, you can actually see that there’s nothing there,” he advised.
He says that if anyone has questions about the security of their business or home, officers are happy to come by and make recommendations.
“We’re willing to go there and share our experience with the business owner or homeowner, whoever it might be, to help them out,” he said.
Kerr declined to comment on a timeline for the investigations.
Kerr encourages anyone with information to reach out to the Petersburg Police Department at (907) 772-3838.
