Smash. Grab. Repeat.
June 26, 2009 at 3:16 pm by Asher Smith in NewsBlue Genes, the clothing boutique in the Around Lenox shopping center that has been broken in to seven times in the past eight years, might be getting a run for its money as the most burgled outpost along Lenox Road.
This morning, police began investigating yet another such burglary, this time at the Macy’s in Lenox Square Mall, where approximately 80 pairs of blue jeans worth an estimated $10,000 were stolen. Burglars found their way in after smashing a plate glass window at the front of the store.
These two victims are, of course, far from alone. Atlanta recently ranked second in a survey of the nation’s most dangerous cities, with property crimes increasing by 7.6 percent in 2008 compared with the previous year. And as the AJC noted, these recent break-ins don’t even set these two stores apart on their own block:
At least two businesses directly across Lenox Road from Macy’s – an AT&T store and a Pearle Vision store – have been hit by smash-and-grab burglars. Thieves made off with $150,000 in designer eyewear from Pearle Vision in May, 2008.
(…) The Filene’s Basement store, just up Peachtree Road from Macy’s, was hit by smash-and-grab burglars in February and again in March.
So why all these similar thefts? Police Sgt Z. Wilson may have the answer:
“[The burglars] know they can go in and out so quick before the alarm companies can notify us.”
Perhaps it would be more cost-effective at this point to just pre-emptively board up all of the Lenox store-fronts. It wouldn’t be pretty, but hey, it’s not like the tourists are flocking here anyway.
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