Burglars target 9 Deerfield, Illinois businesses in overnight crime spree, police say
In recent weeks, several North Shore and north suburban businesses have been burglarized; masked suspects in and out in just minutes, looking for cash.
The disturbing trend hit Deerfield early Friday, with burglars breaking into nine businesses before dawn.
All nine businesses were in the downtown area and Lake Cook corridor. Police said three of the businesses hit were in the 700-800 block of Waukegan Road; two were in the 600 block of Deerfield Road; and four were in the 400-700 blocks of Lake Cook Road.
In each instance, police said the burglars followed the same pattern as in other North Shore community burglaries, in which the thieves spent a very brief amount of time inside the business and appeared to be searching for cash before moving on.
No further information or description of the suspects was immediately available.
At Taco Vida, owner Freddy Sanchez made sure his doors were open for business just hours after a crew of burglars busted through the glass.
"If we were closed, that's kind of like being afraid of what happened," he said.
Sanchez says the burglars stole about $3,000 from his restaurant between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. – taking cash from both registers and a small box with additional cash.
"That's real money, I mean, especially for a small business," he said.
Burglars also hit Jimmy Thai, a restaurant staple in Deerfield. Surveillance video showed one of the hooded suspects calmly riffling through the register before ripping it from the counter and walking out.
"Mostly they just tried to look around. Of course, they are looking for the money," employee Donhatai Hataei said.
Next door to Jimmy Thai, burglars also hit a nail salon.
It comes days after more than a dozen businesses in Highland Park and Morton Grove were burglarized in a similar pattern.
"The North Shore is an easy target, and I think people know that," Sanchez said.
Sanchez said, at times, even as a business owner, there's a false sense of security in the North Shore.
"We let our guard down a little bit, you know, and we've got to bring it up again," he said.
Deerfield police said they are working this investigation with other departments in the northern suburbs to try and determine if the same suspects are responsible for all of these burglaries.
