The Perry Police Department is investigating break ins at a pair of Perry businesses last week, one downtown and one on Perry’s east side.
The first occurred sometime prior to Wednesday, Jan. 25 at La Paris Est. 1869 at 1208 Willis Ave., the former home of Conklin Jewelers and Woolworth’s that has been undergoing extensive renovation since Nov. 1.
The building’s owner, Jacqueline Riekena, informed the Perry Police Department about 3 p.m. Wednesday that “her building was broken into two days ago,” according to police department call records.
“It’s close to $85,000 in damages and theft,” Riekena told ThePerryNews.com Thursday. “They were in the building two or three nights in a row and stripped out the whole HVAC system down below. All the copper was completely stripped.”
She estimated the cost of the newly installed HVAC system at $50,000. She said numerous antiques, both furniture and pictures, were also stolen.
“All the frames and half the glass, more than 500 pieces of glass, were taken,” she said. “I am really devastated over all those paintings, all the lamps. Half of those prints are gone, all the stuff that was found in the trap door in that one room, all of that is gone. Half the stuff I bought new was gone. It might even be closer to $100,00 by the time it’s done. I just want to cry about it all, especially the HVAC system. I am so devastated by this. If you saw all the damage in the downstairs, you would about fall over.”
Perry Police Department Chief Eric Vaughn said the case is under investigation.
“I don’t have any additional information on the report at this time,” Vaughn said Monday. He said scrap-metal theft has become less frequent in recent months.
“The scrap metal prices have gone down a little bit so it hasn’t been as much an issue lately,” Vaughn said, “not to say that if it was available and they could make quick entry and do some quick work that they wouldn’t take that opportunity, but we haven’t seen those reports for a little while, at least for a few months.”
The second burglary occurred shortly before midnight Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Blue Jay Market at 2810 Willis Ave.
“This is the third time in about two years for this store,” said Bob Boyle, owner of the Blue Jay Market. “Every time it happens, I seal up the place where they got in, and they find another way. It’s sad, but I’m getting used to it.”
Boyle said the thieves “broke the front window massively. I haven’t figured out what they used to break it but whatever it was, the glass went all across the store, into my office, everywhere. It was like an explosion. There was glass everywhere. Quite phenomenal. I’ve been broken into a lot over my years. I’ve been in business since 1985, and we’ve had a lot of break ins, and this was just an explosion of glass.”
Boyle said no cash was stolen.
“They went right for the vape liquids,” he said. Vape liquids are nicotine-enriched oils that are vaporized in an electronic cigarette.
Vaughn said the Perry Police Department was notified of the break in at the market about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, and the case is under investigation.
“It looks like they made entry by breaking a front window,” Vaughn said. “Once inside, they stole an unknown amount of e-cigarettes mainly and some alcohol, it appears.”
E-cigarettes and the vapor oils burned in them have become popular items for thieves, Vaughn said.
“A lot of times with burglaries we see things like that,” he said, “with cigarettes being taken or liquor being taken, because the cost of them, even to use. I don’t know if that’s probably the same type of thing where they resell those things like they do cigarettes or liquor or use them themselves.”
Vaughn said the relative isolation of businesses on east Willis Avenue seems to make them a tempting target for thieves.
“We’re up and down that area of Willis quite a bit,” Vaughn said. “It just depends on the light and that type of thing as to whether you can see something right away. I guess the situation there is that there’s probably not a lot of people out and about at that time of day to observe those kinds of things, whereas in a residential area you have a higher concentration of people. I guess that’s probably why we have those kinds of incidents out there more often.”
Vaughn said both burglaries are receiving attention from the Perry Police Department.
“I know the guys have a couple of leads that they’re working on right now,” he said.
