Business owners’ ongoing response to local robbery crime

According to police reports from the past five days, six businesses have been targeted. Most of them had badly damaged ATM machines.

British stone. Lewis – Two other businesses on South Street. Louis was broken into overnight on Tuesday, November 2. 29.

It is part of a string of robberies that continues to affect the entire urban area.

According to police reports from the past five days, six businesses have been targeted.

Most of them had badly damaged ATM machines.

It’s an ongoing problem, and business owners like Ednen Sawlan are tired of dealing with it.

“It’s $4 to $5,000 to break down all of these — just the doors, the sirens — the ATM. All of that. It’s kind of crazy,” he said.

Solan described the call he received around 4am on Tuesday as “heartbreaking”.

Surveillance footage shows thieves breaking into his R&M Laundry laundromat on Gravois Avenue and destroying his ATM and alarm system.

According to Sawlan, the thieves entered the business through a boarded-up door that hadn’t been repaired since the last break-in a month ago.

“In the end they got nothing, they opened the face of the ATM and got nothing,” he said.

Sawlan wasn’t the only one who was hit overnight.

Less than a minute down the road, thieves smashed the windows of Oak Street Health in Gravois, about 15 minutes before Sawlan’s store was attacked.

Oak Street Health told 5 On Your Side in a statement:

“The safety of our staff and patients is our top priority. Fortunately, there were no staff or patients in the clinic at the time. Nothing was stolen. We are currently assessing and repairing the damage and are working with law enforcement on the investigation.”

“It’s so hard. It’s all over, not just me,” Solan said.

5 On Your Side I-TEAM has new details from law enforcement about how widespread the problem is.

There were 70 robberies in the three weeks beginning October 1. 26th to 16th November. Most occur between 2am and 5am

The suspects were mainly looking for money and took it from cash registers and safes.

Police believe there are currently at least three active gangs carrying out the crimes, ranging in size from two to six people.

About 34 percent of these robberies took place in District 2, based on details received.

About 20% of crimes occur in District 4, making them the second highest district.

Apotheosis Comics owner Martin Casas said crime and burglary were constant concerns for small business owners.

“As a small business owner, if our store was broken into and $1,000 worth of items were stolen, we could go out of business,” he said.

For Casas, that’s the last thing he wants to happen to his store, which is why he’s been extra cautious and making some changes.

“There’s been a recent burglary in the area…we make sure we bring home things that we know are valuable…make sure we don’t leave any cash in the drawer…we don’t put any cash in the drawer now …we take high-value items elsewhere,” he said.

Whether they’re victims or not, business owners across the city want it to stop.

“Small business owners have so much going on in a day that it’s one thing we really don’t want to think about,” Casas said.

“We need the police to cooperate with us,” Solan said.

Courtesy Diner on Hampton was one of two restaurants that were broken into on Monday, Nov. 11. 28.

5 On Your Side spoke to an employee by phone who said they had encountered this situation four times in the past four months.

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