A rash of break-ins

Springfield Police are warning business owners to be on the lookout for theft after three buildings were broken into last week and this past weekend.

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A RASH OF BREAK-INS By KATY SAVAGE ksavage@eagletimes.com 9 hrs ago 0 lodge Rob Merrill, the administrator of the Loyal Order Of The Moose in Springfield, Vt., shows damages to the back door handle. KATY SAVAGE door The front door of Shanghai Garden in Springfield, Vt., was smashed last week. KATY SAAVAGE SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Police are warning business owners to be on the lookout for theft after three buildings were broken into last week and this past weekend. The Springfield Town Hall was broken into sometime between 5 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Sunday, police said. The Loyal Order of the Moose lodge on was broken into Sunday morning and Shanghai Garden was broken into last Tuesday night and again on Friday. Springfield Police Lt. Mark Fountain said it had yet to be determined if the break-ins were related. Police had no suspects as of Monday afternoon. About $200 worth of change was stolen from the Shanghai Garden restaurant on Clinton Street, said Shan Xu, the manager. “They took all the change — quarters, pennies and nickels and some tips,” she said. Xu said cash is not kept at the restaurant. She said employees discovered the theft Wednesday morning when the front glass door was shattered. The door cost about $500 to replace. Xu said another break-in at the restaurant occurred this past Friday when employees discovered the door had been opened again. “It’s shocking,” Xu said. Xu said they are in the process of installing video cameras and replacing locks. Police don’t know if there was one person or multiple people involved in the break-ins. Around $300 worth of cash in raffle money was stolen from the Loyal Order of Moose lodge off South Street, said Administrator Rob Merrill. A cash register with no money in it was also stolen from the nonprofit organization. Police later recovered in the woods, “smashed,” Merrill said. The lodge’s security system detected motion just after 7 a.m. Sunday, Merrill said. Merrill said the lodge’s video cameras didn’t catch who broke in. He said the back door was jimmied open. The locks were quickly replaced. “I was a little surprised,” said Merrill. “We have had undesirable characters hanging around.” The last theft from the lodge was about 10 years ago, he said, when liquor was taken. Merrill hopes police are able to recover fingerprints from the cash register to catch the robber in the incident this weekend. Springfield Town Manager Tom Yennerell said someone entered the Town Hall through an unlocked window on the ground floor. He said nothing notable was missing. “There are cameras pointed town the Town Hall and it is only a matter of time until it is determined who entered the building,” Yennerell said. The incidents are under investigation.