July 26, 2004
Thomasville-- Three stores in Thomas County and two in Grady County have been burglarized recently, and owners are looking for ways to protect their stores.
The door of a safe remains, but the contents are gone, and it's possible they will never be recovered.
"Make sure you don't leave anything in the store overnight." Lt. Tim Watkins of the Thomas County Sheriff's Department says all money should be taken to the bank at the stores closing. "If you have to do a nightdrop, you can call the Sheriff's Office or the Police Department. They will actually escort you to the bank to do your drops."
Also, have an alarm system installed. If you already have one, make sure it actually works. "Contact your alarm system and make sure that if the power is cut off that the alarm will actually activate like it should."
And put surveillance cameras in places that will help investigators identify burglars if a break-in occurs. "You need to have an outside camera and possibly can see the street and also, at least one camera that will show where your money is kept."
Anytime there are suspicious customers, call police, because that could stop a burglary from happening at your store at a later time. "Well, we'd definitely like to talk to the person. If you have someone in your store hanging around that has not been there before and spent a lot of time there. Please give us a call, we'd love to talk to them."
Tips that could save store owners thousands of dollars, because it's better to be safe, than to lose one. Investigators believe the same people are responsible for burglaries in Thomas and Grady Counties.
posted at 5:10PM by dave.miller@walb.com
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