Whitehorse RCMP are investigating a rash of break-ins to local businesses that took place last Thursday night.
Break-ins were reported at several downtown businesses, including Murdoch’s Gem Shop on Main Street, the Java Connection coffee shop on Third Avenue, Hendrik’s barbershop on Fourth Avenue, the
Feed Store on Quartz Road and the Subway restaurant on Second Avenue.
Police arrested an adult male suspect on Friday morning, and issued a news release that day saying the suspect would be held in custody for a court appearance. According to the release, the suspect is not a Yukon resident.
Cindy Beasley, owner of the Java Connection, said one of her employees showed up at 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning to discover the deadbolt had been physically pulled out of the coffee shop’s door.
When she went in, she saw that both cash registers were on the floor.
“At this point, I think she was frozen, just scared, and that’s when I walked in the door and called 9-1-1,” Beasley said.
Beasley said $400 in coins had been taken from the tills, but no other damage had been done.
“It could have been so much worse. I don’t know what they could have done. They could have broken displays, anything,” she said. “They were just looking for cash.”
Beasley said she was surprised the coffee shop’s alarm system didn’t go off during the burglary. She thinks a power outage in downtown Whitehorse on Thursday may have had something to do with the fault.
Since the incident, she’s had new, modern security panels installed, and she’s had her lock fixed with a new safety cap that will prevent it from being pulled out.
She’s also considering installing a security camera. And she said if something like this happens again, no employee will go into the shop alone.
“What if somebody had been in here?” she said. “It’s scary. I think we’re lucky that a lot more damage... didn’t happen to us. A few hundred you can deal with, but should something happen to your staff or your livelihood, that’s a lot harder to deal with.”
At Hendrik’s barbershop on Fourth Avenue, manager Megan Easter described arriving to a similar scene on Friday morning. The lock had been pulled out of the door, and the cash register was broken.
But Easter said the shop doesn’t keep any money on hand. “I think we had four dollars in our till.”
Otherwise, she said, the shop was left untouched.
Easter said by the time she spoke to police, they had already arrested the suspect. She said they photographed the footprints in the barbershop.
Since the break-in, Easter has already had security cameras installed. Like Beasley, she’s also had her lock secured.
“I feel like the crime in this town is just getting worse and worse,” she said. “At least they caught the guy.”
Police say the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information should contact Whitehorse RCMP at 867-667-5555.
Contact Maura Forrest at
maura.forrest@yukon-news.com