Rooftop thieves have struck again, drilling a hole through a roof to get into a business.
The latest was Wednesday night at Wally's Vegetables, 799 Amesbury Road, Haverhill.
There, thieves cut through 9 inches of roofing material, cut another hole over the closet where the safe was stored, and then widened the hole to get a safe containing $900.
Local police said in cases like this, the thieves are usually methodical — often casing the building well ahead of the break so they know exactly where to drop in near the safe or other valuables.
"In commercial burglaries, either they're able to get some inside information or they case the place out ahead of time,'' Lawrence police Chief John Romero said. "They know what they're looking for and they're in there the shortest amount of time possible.''
The same kind of break happened at the Luk Oil gas station down the street from Wally's Vegetables three weeks ago, and at a Methuen White Hen Pantry Tuesday night. Police also are looking at possible connections to recent safe thefts at JoAnn Fabrics in Methuen and Friendly's in Haverhill.
"We are looking at it,'' Haverhill Deputy police Chief Donald Thompson said. "It is very possible the breaks are connected."
The recent thefts:
White Hen Pantry, 319 Merrimack St., Methuen, Tuesday night. Thieves cut a hole in the roof over a rear storage area of the building to gain entry.
The store security video captured two masked men clad in dark clothing running through the store to the front of the building about 12:06 a.m., but police said it doesn't appear anything was stolen.
Haverhill Luk Oil station, 402 Amesbury Road, Haverhill, three weeks ago. The thieves took a substantial amount of cash and two cases of Marlboro and Newport cigarettes valued at $1,500 each.
Friendly's, Main Street, Haverhill, two weeks ago. Thieves broke into the restaurant, destroyed two alarm panels and smashed through a wall into an office to cut open the safe.
JoAnn Fabrics, 436 Broadway, Methuen, two weeks ago. Thieves pried open the back door and stole a safe containing $3,000 cash.
To guard against breaks through roofs, store owners should install motion detectors inside their buildings in addition to the standard door alarms, police said.
Anyone with information about the Haverhill breaks is asked to call the police at 978-373-1212. Anyone having information about the Methuen breaks is asked to call police there at 978-983-8677.
