North Stafford, Va. –– Investigators say a brazen burglar broke into a series of businesses on Va. 610 on Monday.
A Stafford County sheriff’s deputy who happened to be driving by a shopping center in the 600 block of Garrisonville Road (Va. 610) heard a burglar alarm going off at 2:53 a.m.
That alarm was coming from the Car Quest auto parts store, which sits next to a nail shop, hair salon and a florist.
He called for backup and when they went to investigate they found the burglar had broken into at least three shops, including the auto parts store, said Stafford sheriff’ spokesman Bill Kennedy.
Cash had been taken from the registers in each business, but the holes in the walls of each store also caught the eyes of deputies.
Investigators believe the culprit first broke into the nail shop, and then bored through the wall and went into the hair salon. After grabbing cash there, the burglar then cut another hole into the wall and entered the auto parts store, said Kennedy.
A search of the area turned up no suspects.
The early-morning break in on Monday comes after a weekend of burglaries in the county.
Deputies were called early Sunday morning to Galway Drive off U.S. 1 in Stafford, after a woman told investigators a TV and jewelry box were missing from her home.
Kennedy said the crime happened about 1 a.m. and the scene resembled a “smash and grab,” as the intruders appeared to cut through a screen in a basement door and then threw a rock to smash glass in the door, allowing the intruder entry to the house.
Also on Sunday, Fredericksburg Orthopedics on Greenspring Drive in North Stafford was broken into between 1 and 3 a.m. Sunday, said Kennedy.
Deputies found a 5×5 window shattered, and surmised that someone threw a rock at the glass, breaking it, and then making their way inside the building.
It’s not clear if anything was taken, but a K-9 search of the area turned up no suspect, said Kennedy.
Anyone with information about the break-ins is encouraged to call Stafford County Crime Solvers at 540-659-2020.
