Criminals Take Advantage of Blackouts

When Hurricane Sandy left Monroe in the dark, burglars took full advantage, breaking into homes and stores without working alarms nor video surveillance cameras and attempting to steal generators.

On Oct. 31, the owner of Brand Cigars, 230 Roosevelt Drive, checked on his store at 9 a.m. and discovered that a rear exterior door was wide open, according to police, who said a metal gate behind the door prevented the burglar(s) from entering the business.

Jewelry was stolen during a burglary reported at Fairfield Auction, 707 Main Street, on Oct. 31. The owners told police someone had smashed the glass door to the rear of the building to gain entry.

Nothing appeared touched in the main room, but cabinet doors in the showroom were ripped off the hinges and high value jewelry was stolen, according to the report. A large safe in a room to the south of the showroom was tampered with, but unopened, police said.

Police had no estimated value for the jewelry.

Another burglary was reported at CubeSmart, a self-storage facility at 873 Main Street, on Oct. 31.

The owner told police he noticed that a lock had been removed from a storage unit in one of the buildings and appeared to be broken. The owner of the storage unit is from Stamford and was behind in fees, so the contents were about to be auctioned, according to police.

Police said the business owner had no suspects because the cameras did not have power at the time of the burglary.

'Screw It! Let's Go!'

At 10:49 p.m. on Oct. 31, an Elm Street man told police he heard a loud bang outside his residence, then heard a male voice say, "Screw it! Let's go!" Moments later, a vehicle sped away, according to police.

A generator owned by AT&T lay in the roadway, disconnected from the utility pole it was chained to, police said.

Why Go to Home Depot?

A 49-year-old Lazy Brook Road man was watching TV at 10:20 p.m. on Oct. 30 when he heard a commotion outside. Police said the garage door was open and three males with flashlights were kneeling by the generator.

The homeowner yelled at them and the thieves ran to an SUV parked down the road and took off, according to the report. Police said the generator was not damaged.

Stolen Gas

Tempers flared over gas shortages following Hurricane Sandy, and before the storm hit, a Shelton Road man told police on Oct. 27 that someone broke into his shed and stole two gas containers — one two-gallons and the other two-and-a-half-gallons.

As officers took down the report, police said a neighbor reported that someone had tried to break into his shed without success.