ST. GEORGE — A local small business owner is warning other commercial property operators after his business was broken into Sunday night for a third time since they opened in the area six years ago.
Following the theft over the weekend, Ryan Flippo, the co-owner and manager of HobbyTown, told St. George News that businesses need to do more than install security cameras and alarm systems to help secure their premises.
“Anything you can put in as a deterrent in your store to make people think twice,” Flippo said. “With the uptick in crime we are seeing, alarms and security cameras are not enough.”
Flippo said businesses need to do whatever they can to make it harder for thieves.
“They don’t care as long as they are in and out within two minutes,” Flippo said about the use of security cameras and alarms.
Flippo said he has a good camera system with a motion alarm system supervised by a security company. The business also has metal gates at the glass doorways.
Flippo said he was surprised that two of the three burglaries were done by older adult men, in their 30s to 40s, adding that two out of the three break-ins were smash-and-grab thefts.
He said the theft on Sunday resulted in a rock being thrown through one of the front display windows.
The other two break-ins in the past took place at their former location on Red Cliffs Drive behind Texas Roadhouse, he added.
Flippo said one was a smash-and-grab theft while the other involved a man using tools to gain access to the air conditioner system and climbing in, dropping down from the ceiling.
“With this type of business, you would think they would be younger,” he said of the suspects’ age ranges.
He added the thieves are doing “smash and grab” thefts because they know they have about two to five minutes to get in and out before the police show up.
HobbyTown used to be HobbyTown USA but has since gone international by adding business relations in Australia. Each branch store is individually owned. This store at 215 W. St. George Boulevard is co-owned by a veteran. Flippo’s parents are co-owners and help run the business.
HobbyTown sells products focused on hobbies, from model airplanes to model cars, Star Wars kits, Japanime kits, puzzles, Pokemon and the more popular radio control cars and trucks.
The products taken during the break-ins were mainly radio control cars, Flippo said. These cars range in price, from under $100 to over $1,000. With custom parts, these cars can be worth over $10,000.
St. George Police Officer Tiffany Mitchell told St. George News since Jan. 27, there have been four business thefts involving the crime being committed outside of business hours. As for thefts employing the smash-and-grab method, there have been six attempted and/or successful thefts since the same date.
Mitchell said there has been a rise in this type of theft lately and police have placed more focus on patrolling around business sections of the city.
She said they recommend owners utilize a quality security camera system with an alarm connected to dispatch as a minimum preventive measure. She suggested businesses also invest in extra preventive measures like installing metal gates to help decrease the likelihood of thieves breaking into the business, as it takes more time and effort to pull off the crime.
People who see something out of the ordinary, like someone hanging around a business after store hours, should call the police, she added.
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