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SANDY -- Several businesses in the Salt Lake Valley were recently hit in what appears to be a rash of burglaries.
At least four businesses have been broken into in the past month; and in each of the cases, the burglar had an unusual way of getting inside. Police say the method allows the crook to avoid typical security systems.
The most recent burglary happened at a Sandy salon.
"We found the cash drawer had been pried open, the cash bag had been cut open, and it was all taken to the back so they could clean it out," said Rebecca Hooper, owner of Celebrity Hair and Nails.
The thief also stole some jewelry, but what really upsets Hooper is how the burglar got in. It's patched up now, but the thief smashed a hole in a wall and crawled into the salon through a vacant storefront next door.
"It's easier for them. They go right through. They cut a perfect hole," Hooper said.
She said she wonders if the same person was behind a break-in at another salon in Holladay, Shear Elegance. A burglar did the same thing there Wednesday, leaving a big mess behind. The thief also used a crowbar to get in to the business next door, and then threw a TV, trying to break the drywall.
"He just kept hitting it and hitting it and hitting it, and so finally the glass broke in half and bent up, and he shimmied his way through there," said Jana Jacobs, owner of Shear Elegance.
At least four businesses have been hit like this, this year. If the same person is behind them, Top It Frozen Yogurt is the only one that caught the culprit on tape.
Surveillance video shows a man, with a towel over his head, coming through the wall and into the kitchen. Even with the alarm sounding, he makes his way to the till but doesn't find any money. He goes through a filing cabinet and then leaves the same way he came in.
That was on June 28, and owner Top It Gordon Poulson is hoping for an arrest.
"Oh, I hope he gets caught soon, ‘cause he's just going to keep taking advantage of people," Poulson said.
Unified police say the break-ins may be related. All the businesses say they are going to increase security.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
