Thieves break into 7 stores at South Toledo strip mall

Thieves broke through a wall between the Verizon store and Jimmy John's restaurant in the shopping strip on Glendale Avenue across from Walmart. They apparently stayed in the back parts of the stores. THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT Enlarge | Photo Reprints

Brent Fink closed up shop Monday at his South Toledo cell-phone store after his entire phone inventory was stolen.

And employees in three other stores at the shopping center in the 3000 block of Glendale Avenue had to clean up drywall and insulation scattered by thieves who broke into their shops.

"It's frustrating," said Mr. Fink, who owns 2B Mobile, an independent Verizon store at 3006 Glendale, which is across the street from Walmart.

A total of seven stores -- three are unoccupied -- were broken into sometime late Sunday or early Monday, police said.

A Jimmy John's employee who showed up for work around 6 a.m. Monday found two holes in the walls. Thieves had ripped a safe off the floor and pulled it into an office.

There was no reported loss from the store at the time of the police report Monday morning.

The thieves pried open the back door at the former Cash Company of America Financial Center site to enter the shopping center. From there, they broke through the wall into Star Diner, 3026 Glendale, which is at the western end of the strip.

Caitlin McVicker, manager of the Star Diner, said nothing was taken from the restaurant, which doesn't have a safe.

"They were thoroughly disappointed when they came in and didn't find anything," she said.

The thieves broke into the dish-washing area, pushing a metal backsplash out of their way. They had tried to break in behind the restaurant's refrigerator.

The thieves broke into Lady Jane's Haircuts for Men, 3014 Glendale, the same way -- by knocking out a small section of the wall and climbing through.

Nothing was reported missing from that business.

In each of the locations, it appeared that the thieves stayed in the back parts of the stores instead of being caught on camera in a storefront, Mr. Fink said.

In the back of the Verizon store, where merchandise is locked up, the thieves broke three holes -- one from the vacant storefront next door, one in the bathroom that leads into Jimmy John's bathroom, and one that looks into the sub shop's kitchen.

"I can get even faster delivery now," Mr. Fink said laughing.

This isn't the first time his store has been broken into in the six years he's been there, he said. This time, though, he said he was going to have to have $30,000 worth of phones delivered overnight to open Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Mr. Fink said he owns seven stores, including one in Point Place that also was broken into recently.

"What can we do?" he said. "We can't keep being broken into. I count on this store to make money."

Mr. Fink said he wasn't considering closing the store because if he closes, "they win."

Toledo police Lt. David Schmidt, who works in property crimes, said this type of break-in is becoming more common.

He wasn't sure how many there had been or if they were linked, but shopping centers appeared to be a target. Authorities aren't certain what is being used to break the holes in the walls.

Mr. Fink said he is considering installing more security lights and cameras in the back room. He's also hoping that the center's owner will increase security around the building.

"It's frustrating for Toledo," Mr. Fink said. "We're already in a plaza that's half empty, and then this. This isn't incentive for businesses to come in."

Contact Taylor Dungjen at: tdungjen@theblade.com or 419-724-6054.