Burglaries were reported to police across multiple communities Wednesday morning, where thieves got away with alcohol and other items from businesses.
Connecticut State Police said a trooper attempted to stop a white Subaru that had a “misused registration plate” on I-91 in Wethersfield shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday. The driver eluded the stop, police said, and was not pursued by the trooper.
Police said that’s when reports of burglaries started to come in. Businesses in East Granby, Bloomfield, Windsor and Farmington reported break-ins or attempted break-ins. All described a white Subaru as the suspect vehicle.
Shortly after 1:30 a.m., police in Berlin responded to a commercial alarm at Sam’s Food and Gas on the Berlin Turnpike. Officers said they found the front door smashed.
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Surveillance video shows the suspects entering the store and trying to steal an ATM, but were unable to get it to move.
Around 2 a.m., Farmington police said they got a report of a burglary at the Shell gas station on Farmington Avenue. A window was broken but nothing was stolen, they said. The thieves attempted to steal another ATM, police said, but again were unsuccessful.
Around 3:45 a.m., surveillance video from Waypoint Spirits in Bloomfield shows thieves breaking in and stealing cases of liquor.
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“As soon as they got in, we could tell that they were organized,” said Matt Wettish, distiller at Waypoint Spirits. “The vehicle pulled up and shined their lights in the door so they could actually see what they were up against, what they were doing. The people entered the building, they actually turned the vehicle around while the guys were inside so they could re-enter the correct way and exit the place.”
Wettish said they went for the money box, but it had been emptied out during the day. That’s when they grabbed what they could of the alcohol.
“They grabbed some and they drop some so we had a day of cleaning up. They got away with a couple cases,” he said. “I don’t know why, but they came here. Maybe it’s cause our stuff is really good."
The thieves stole alcohol worth a total of $2,000 to $4,000, owner Anthony Time estimates.
“We’re just starting to get on our feet, so, yeah, any little bit hurts cause it puts you in the rear. [The money] could be going towards other things," Time said.
On Thursday, their door was fixed, and their spirits were high as they continue to make their popular UConn Husky spirit.
“We lost some stuff, we had to fix some stuff and we move forward,” Wettish said. “We’re doing tastings and making cocktails and just dealing with it. We can’t let these things get you down. There’s enough bad going on in this world, move forward from it.”
State police also said The Liquor Cabinet on Rainbow Road in East Granby reported a burglary around 4 a.m., and minutes later, Sam’s Food/Citgo on School Street reported a burglary alarm activation, but police said nothing was stolen.
Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
