Despite having a security system, an Orchards-area cellphone store was burglarized three times in a 2½-hour period, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
A Waste Connection employee noticed the broken glass door at PhoneStop, 10411 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., at about 6 a.m. Feb. 10, Vancouver Police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said.
The employee called 911 and an officer responded, boarded up the store and attempted to contact the store owner, Kapp said. It wasn’t until about 7 a.m., when the alarm company called the owner, that he came to the scene, Kapp said.
When police reviewed the surveillance video, it showed that the store had been burglarized three times during the early morning hours, Kapp said.
The first burglary happened just before 3 a.m., when a lone man smashed through the front door, smashed some display cases and left with several cell phones, Kapp said.
The second burglary happened at about 4:40 a.m. when two suspects came through the broken door and broke into a different display case, stealing more merchandise before leaving, Kapp said.
The third burglary was at about 5:30 a.m. when another suspect ran in, stole more items and left, Kapp said.
The thieves stole 15 cellphones and five or six tablets, worth about $5,000, said Slava Sarksyan, who owns the business.
Sarksyan said that his ADT security system had failed somehow; he said he spent two days talking on the phone with representatives before deciding to quit their service. ADT did not return a message left by The Columbian.
Sarksyan is in the process of selecting a new security services contractor.
“This is unacceptable,” he said. “We’re going to fix the problem for sure. We have to. I can’t afford to get hit like that.”
