Published: August 23, 2008 04:18 pm      

Family Dollar burglary investigated

Danie M. Huffman

wdreporter2@yahoo.com

An overnight break-in sparked questions of a business burglary on Palo Pinto Street in relation with two other crimes.

Sometime between 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night and 4 a.m. Thursday morning, police said an unknown number of suspects broke out a guard light at the back door of the Family Dollar Store and stole money contained in a safe.

Officials are not sure how the suspects gained access into the safe, but said it had been “pried” open.

Nearly $2,500 was taken in the crime.

Weatherford Police Detective Troy Luecke said the suspects disengaged the store’s security equipment during the incident.

Although the merchandise was untouched and the safe was not taken, the burglars left about $1,000 in damages behind.

Employees from a business within the same shopping center arrived around 4 a.m. when they were having “issues” with an alarm.

Police said Family Dollar’s alarm did not go off during the night, but believe the other business’ alarm problems resulted from a lightning storm that evening.

Luecke said the phone lines were severed at Family Dollar as in similar burglaries of Dollar General on Fort Worth Highway.

A January break-in occurred at Dollar General, and again in May.

In May, police said the two earlier crimes could be connected, but would not confirm it until the investigation was completed.

In both Dollar General incidents, the safe was stolen. In the first crime, an undetermined amount of cash was reportedly stolen. In the May burglary, the safe was stolen, but was empty.

And again, in both incidents, the security equipment was disengaged and the culprits took the equipment with them.

In January, the burglars used a dolly to haul off the safe, leaving the dolly behind.

Police advised business owners to beef up security shortly afterward.

When the store was hit again in May, the alarm was set off when the suspects entered the building through a back wall, stealing the safe and exiting through a metal door.

At the time of the first and second robberies, the Dollar General was the only business to report a break-in.

Luecke said merchandise was taken in other store incidents, but he described them as thefts, adding he does not believe they are related to the current case.

“Most complaints have been from vehicle burglaries and random break-ins of storage buildings,” he said, adding investigators are looking “close” to see if the business burglaries are related.

He said it was too early in the investigation to determine a definite connection between them.

Police did not want to comment on the Family Dollar Store surveillance saying it could hinder the investigation.

Luecke said patrol officers are canvassing the area and beefing up patrol.

“Further details about the crime are not being made public at this time due to the ongoing investigation,” Luecke said.