St. Albert police are looking for tips from the public after thieves struck two more city businesses by breaking in through their front doors.
St. Albert RCMP put out an update Sept. 21 on their investigations of two break-ins at city businesses — the second and third such crimes to happen this month. RCMP Cpl. Morgan Kyle said police are not yet certain if these thefts are connected.
Kyle said the first of these break-ins happened Sept. 14 at the Cora restaurant in the St. Albert Centre mall. An alarm had been triggered at the restaurant at about 11:45 p.m. Police determined that someone damaged the restaurant’s front door and stole the drawers from the cash registers, causing $1,500 in damages and losses.
In an interview, Bruce Kang, who owns the Cora in St. Albert Centre, said the person or persons who robbed his restaurant breached its front door by somehow pulling out the door’s lock.
The second break-in happened Sept. 17 at about 9:15 a.m. at Cosmic Pizza near St. Albert Trail and Lennox Drive. In an interview, store manager Hajra Aamir said someone pulled the lock out of the store’s front door and stole a cash register containing about $2,000. The door has since been repaired.
The third occurred Sept. 21 at about 6:10 a.m. at HERC’s Nutrition, located between St. Albert Trail and the Sturgeon Hospital. In an interview, owner Ashley Niebach said someone pulled the lock out of the store’s front door and took the trays from her cash registers to steal some $1,200. Besides the door, she said there was no damage to the store, “just my ego.”
Kyle advised city business owners to ensure their alarm systems and security cameras are operational and to not leave valuables in their stores overnight if possible.
“The big thing is to not leave any cash on the premises,” she said, and to leave empty cash registers opened to reduce the risk they will be stolen.
Kyle said police are now reviewing video footage of these thefts and are looking for anyone who witnessed these crimes or who has video footage of these areas.
Anyone with information about these crimes should call St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
