Burglar Strikes Again at Mack Avenue Store

patrol officers responded to a burglar alarm about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 27 at to find the front window broken. They searched the store but the burglar had already left the area, according to a report.

The owner identified a variety of types of money that were on display were stolen, including one valued at $1,600, and a video surveillance tape showed officers how the crime happened. 

A man dressed in clothing with Detroit Tigers logo threw a chunk of asphalt through the front window of the store, broke the window and then entered the store. He remained in the store for about a minute but was gone before officers arrived. He ran from the store toward University, according to the report.

Detective Alan Gwyn said investigators are suspect that the man was part of a . A rock was used to break the front window that time and three men entered the store. They stole at least 70 coins valued at $1,600 and a shotgun that had been kept near the safe. The men wore face masks and hooded sweatshirts. A video surveillance of that crime revealed two names detectives have been using during their investigation.

Both crimes are under investigation and there is not any solid evidence yet to suggest they are related but the manner in which the burglar gained entry and checked around the store were very similar, leading investigators to believe it may be one of the same men, Gwyn said.

Investigators believed they had a lead in the original case after a trio of men were found in the alley behind the store at 17658 Mack Avenue a few days after the original crime with a cell phone that had been stolen during a home invasion in Detroit, but there was no evidence to connect those men to the burglary, he said.

None of the items stolen during either burglary have been shown up at area pawn shops yet, Gwyn said, but investigators are looking for such information.

A complete description of the man was not avialable as he wore a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, although police do have the video surveillance tape.