Julie Quinones, owner of Glen Garden Gifts, is one such owner whose establishment was broken into on Monday. She arrived at the shop to find her safe was missing.
“He didn’t break anything, any doors to get in,“ she said. ”He tried to open the safe in the office — even removed the pins from the hinges — and couldn’t get in."
The suspect then proceeded to carry the safe out of the shop and through the back alley before dumping it in a park behind the parking lot. With a lot of time and “pure luck,” Quinones said, she was able to find and recover her safe.
Other business owners weren’t as lucky. Donna Blackmon, owner of Heaven on Earth Emporium, had her front window smashed out and money taken from her cash register, she said.
“I was sitting at home, checking my Blink camera photos ... and saw him lurking around outside,” she said. “So I got on the inside camera near the cash register. He got $130. He couldn’t have been in there more than 10 minutes.”
The string of robberies began overnight on June 14, the weekend of the Yellow Springs Street Fair, the Dayton Daily News previously reported. Bentino’s Pizza, Wander & Wonder, Tibet Bazaar and Village Herb Shoppe were all broken into that same weekend.
There have been roughly four additional incidents of break-ins in the intervening month, said Phillip O’Rourke, executive director of the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce.
“Business owners are concerned,” O’Rourke said. “In a small town, anything that has a frequency or (is) becoming standard in a short amount of time raises awareness.”
The Chamber of Commerce convened local business owners Tuesday evening to discuss what steps owners have taken — and are taking — to protect themselves, as well as what concerns could be raised to the village or Yellow Springs police regarding the situation.
“We’re grateful an arrest was made. Yellow Springs has a culture of being welcoming, but we have to do our due diligence in terms of safety,” O’Rourke said. “What can we do to — number one — make sure downtown businesses are protected?”
Yellow Springs police are still investigating whether or not the Monday incidents are connected to the entire string of robberies. The Dayton Daily News has reached out to the department for comment.
Yellow Springs Police have faced a slew of online criticism regarding the incidents, prompting them to release a statement Monday evening.
“These incidents have disrupted your sense of safety and your livelihoods, and we want you to know that your concerns are heard, taken seriously and are the subject of ongoing, active investigation,” Yellow Springs police wrote on social media.
Police are working with partner agencies, reviewing available surveillance footage, collecting evidence and increasing patrols in key areas, the department said on social media.
“The absence of public updates does not reflect inactivity — it reflects the sensitive nature of investigative work that must be done carefully and thoroughly," police said.
Yellow Springs police also encouraged business owners to put up cameras and remove cash and valuables from the premises overnight.
Quinones does not currently have cameras, but plans to put them up now, she said.
“I think (YSPD) is doing their job as they’re capable of doing as any police department would,” she said. “As a business owner, it’s a little disconcerting that this person has been able to do this (for) this long without getting caught.”
“I think it’s easy to get sensationalized and for something like this to paint an entire picture of a place or a department,” O’Rourke said. “But we are a vibrant community and this isn’t going to paint the entire picture for the scope of things. This is just something that needs to be addressed.”
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