For 23 years, there had never been a break-in at Acceptance Auto Insurance in Military Plaza. So far this year, there have been three.
The most recent intrusion on March 9 was the same as the first two. A group of masked suspects wearing black hoodies broke the glass of the front door early in the morning at about 4:30 a.m. Unable to find anything to take with them, the intruders left.
With the break-ins becoming more frequent, Insurance Agent Marshelle Jones said she’s felt increasingly unsafe in her office.
“Normally I keep that door locked (during the day) because … I’m afraid they may get bold and want to come in the daytime,” Jones told The Dispatch on Tuesday.
The incident is one of a slew of at least 10 break-ins at local businesses this year within a mile of the intersection of Military and Bluecutt roads, representatives for nine of which spoke to The Dispatch this week. In some cases, businesses caught the intruders on surveillance cameras.
In Military Plaza, Baber’s Home Furnishings, Exclusive Clothing and Jordan’s Barber and Styles have all been broken into this year, some multiple times.
Down the street in The Shops at Brickerton, Subway was broken into July 2. Manager Zack Asadi said two intruders busted the glass in the front door. After finding the cash register empty, Asadi said one of the intruders stole a drink from the refrigerator. The pair then left without taking anything else.
Two doors down and three weeks earlier, Southbound Coffee Co. had a brick thrown through its glass front door. The suspects left after the alarm sounded off and were unable to take anything, Manager Cyndi Walls told The Dispatch.
In between the two shopping centers, Campbell’s Tax Service Payment Center was broken into July 3. Intruders busted the glass front door with a brick, shattered a payment window inside the building and ripped the alarm system console from the wall, racking up more than $3,000 in damages.
The similarities between the crimes go beyond the suspects. Representatives from each business told The Dispatch they’ve received no updates from the Columbus Police Department.
CPD Public Information Officer Bryan Moore said the department is unsure whether the break-ins are connected.
“They’re still investigating,” Moore told The Dispatch Wednesday. “It’s too early to say that it is the same people even though it is possible.”
Along with concerns for safety, several owners said they are becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress. Exclusive Clothing Owner Joe Baldwin said the police installed a light pole in the parking lot at Military Plaza as a deterrent, but it has had little effect.
“We’ve probably had the most break-ins of anywhere in Columbus probably, just in this plaza,” Baldwin said. “… Somebody needs to do something.”
Frances Stewart, owner of Stewart’s Total Image Beauty Salon on 20th Street North, said the issue is extending to her street. The break-in at her business on June 3 was similar to the others, she said. Intruders vandalized the business, stole TVs, security cameras and beauty supplies.
“We were able to look at somebody else’s camera across the street,” Stewart said. “We could kind of see that there were several young men or women, whoever. They were all dressed in black, so we couldn’t determine their gender.”
Beside the salon, Exquisite Burgers and More was broken into in June. Owner Xavier Pippins said several windows were busted, cameras were damaged and condiments sprayed across the floor.
Pippins said the break-in was a big setback for him as a small business owner.
“This is a mom and pop store,” he said. “Then, I didn’t have insurance, so I had to end up paying out of pocket to get all these windows put in. … I don’t know what’s up with Columbus Police Department. They didn’t even dust for fingerprints.”
Moore said the standard procedure for handling break-ins starts with calling in investigators and taking pictures.
“Once the keyholder arrives on scene, (they) try to figure out what’s missing or how much (the) value is of whatever is missing,” he said. “And if they’ve got cameras, investigators would do a follow up on that. If they have a suspect in custody, of course the investigators would come out.”
Sylvia Graham, who owns Skeet’s Hotdogs on 14th Avenue North, said she hasn’t received any updates from CPD either. Her restaurant was broken into and vandalized on June 1 and then again a month later on July 1.
For Graham, the damage goes beyond the restaurant and into the community.
“Safety-wise I feel OK,” she said. “My feelings were just hurt because the business serves the community, and it was probably somebody from the community that did it.”
Moore said he was unsure of any leads the department has on the break-ins, but there are plans to patrol the area more frequently.
“We’re going to beef up the patrol in that area,” he said “I’m going to make sure I put that out to the patrol supervisors, especially between 1 to 5 in the morning.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 39 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
