Lawrence store suffers second break-in in four months
LAWRENCE | Burglars smashed in the glass front door of the Broadway Minimart and escaped with cash and cigarettes, police said.
Hitesh Khambhati, 39, who operates the store owned by his uncle, said he got a call from his alarm company about 11 p.m. Monday alerting him to the break. It was the second time the store had been hit in four months, he said.
On April 23, burglars broke through the wall from an adjacent business location and stole $2,200 cash, $900 in pre-paid phone cards, 25 cartons of cigarettes, and a book of lottery tickets that had not been activated, Khambhati said.
The next night, a taxi driver came in with a winning ticket that was from the book that had not been activated, Khambhati said. "He told me someone had given it to him instead of cash during the night," Khambhati said.
In Monday night's break, $2,000 cash and 60 cartons of cigarettes valued at $1,950 were stolen, police said.
Khambhati said the store security video captured an image of the burglar as he broke into the store Monday night.
He said after the April break motion sensors were added to the alarm system.
"It used to be a good city," Khambhati said. "Nowadays people are losing jobs and struggling."
But business people are struggling too, he said, with high taxes on cigarettes and gasoline prices.
"And on top of that we have these breaks and robberies, it makes me feel bad," he said.
Police Chief John Romero said Khambhati should consider reinforcing the front door to make it more difficult to get in, and should also stop leaving large amounts of cash in the store when it is closed, because this only encourages repeat burglaries.
"There are people who are casing these places looking for an easy entry," Romero said. "They are in and out within a minute."
