PRESTON — Businesses in Preston are taking extra security measures following a string of burglaries in that Utah/Idaho border town.
In the past two months, there have been 10 burglaries reported in the city of 5,000 people.
Tattle Bar & Grille has been hit twice.
The pub’s owner, Joyce Pitcher, said the thief or thieves made off with a substantial amount of cash during the first burglary, and a small amount of money the second time.
Pitcher has owned the business for the past 17 years and said the recent rash of burglaries is a first.
“They violated me and I don’t like it at all,” Pitcher said.
The burglar got into the bar the first time through an unlocked window and during the second, the window was broken to gain entry.
In response, Pitcher said she installed an alarm system and is looking to add a video surveillance system as well.
Pitcher said she’s not sure if the burglar will ever be caught.
“They have them on video and they came back and did it again,” Pitcher said.
Four storage units in neighboring Franklin were broken into on the same weekend. In that case the suspect cut the locks off the storage units.
Bo Spackman is the manager of LaTienda, a convenience store in Preston.
LaTienda, which means, “the store” in Spanish, has not been targeted during the recent crime wave. But the store was struck by a burglar last year who stole the ATM from the store.
“They broke in the back door and used our (handcart) to get the ATM out,” Spackman said.
The perpetrator was never caught. But Spackman said the incident prompted the owner to take action. An alarm system and video cameras were installed, and he believes that move might have discouraged the current burglar who remains at large.
Preston Mayor Mark Beckstead is one year into his first term at the city’s highest post and he’s confident that the burglar or burglars will be caught.
A former Preston police officer, Beckstead said local businesses have been notified about the ongoing burglaries. Business owners have been encouraged to remove cash from their businesses at the end of the day.
Beckstead said that the police have also increased patrols in the city in response to the recent burglaries.
Preston Police Chief Ken Geddes said investigators are following leads in the case.
Geddes said in each case, windows or doors were broken to gain access to the businesses. But he said it’s unclear if the burglaries are connected.
The chief said investigators are also looking to see if the burglaries in Preston are related to incidents in surrounding communities.
Anyone with information about the break-ins is urged to contact the Preston police at (208) 852-2433 or the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at (208) 852-1234.
This article was originally published in the Idaho State Journal. It is used here with permission.
The post Preston reports 10 burglaries in the past two months appeared first on East Idaho News.