Branford P.D.
Two burglars wearing tight white face masks with only their eyes visible tripped an alarm at Eli’s On the Hill restaurant at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Then they knocked out the outside security camera.
Next they used a crowbar to pop open a window in the basement of the building.
In a matter of minutes, the inside motion detector picked up their movement, and an alarm went off alerting police. The inside cameras, however, were working.
At that point they moved quickly and deftly through the restaurant, located at 624 West Main St. They knew exactly where to go. They went upstairs, passing the restaurant’s cash register and bar. Then they seized an ATM, unlocked the back door and threw the ATM over the restaurant’s deck.
Then both men jumped over the deck, about a ten-foot jump and landed on the ground, Nace Schimler, the restaurant’s manager said as he described the episode in an interview with the Eagle.
Next the burglars went about smashing the ATM until they were able to grab the money they found inside. Schimler said it was easily $1,000, but he would not disclose the full amount of the theft. (Typically ATMs stash several thousand dollars or more in one machine, depending upon where the machine is located.)
In a press release alerting the community to a series of restaurant break-ins over the weekend, the police made no mention of the ATM theft.
“This burglary was well-planned,” Schimler observed. “These gentlemen were well-organized. They knew what they were doing.” He said Eli’s does not keep any money in its cash register drawers. Schimler said he believed the burglars were familiar with the restaurant.
Eli’s on the Hill, police believe, was the third Branford restaurant hit overnight this weekend.
The Eel Pot and Tommy Sullivan’s restaurant were also burglarized early Sunday morning, police said. In the past month The Chowder Pot and the Lion City Chinese restaurant were also victims of burglaries, probably by the same men, police theorize.
So now Eli’s on the Hill, The Eel Pot, Tommy Sullivan’s, the Chowder Pot and the Lion City restaurant share a bond that goes beyond serving up good food. All are located from one end of Branford to the other. All are on or near Main Street. All are popular, busy places, especially on weekends. And all were burglarized in the past month.
Branford P.D.
Police have now stepped up surveillance along Main Street, from West Main to North Main and are looking for the two men who were driving a silver or grey pick-up truck, possibly a Dodge.
A Hectic Early Morning
Because of the snow storm that evening, Eli’s closed an hour earlier, about 1 a.m. on Sunday, the manager said. The alarm announcing the burglary came in at 2:30 a.m.
Schimler said the police acted swiftly, arriving within ten minutes, just as the bandits were getting away. He estimated the two men were in the building a total of three minutes, but overall spent about 10 minutes on the property, including the time they worked to disable the ATM.
“Just as they left the police arrived. That was about ten minutes after the alarm signal went out. The police were here very fast,” he said. “They have our videos.” After the burglary, the men were believed to have fled toward East Haven. The videos show two men, one of whom is in a heavy off-white jacket.
The same men were believed to be the ones who burglarized The Eel Pot, which is located on Meadow Street.
One of the workers at the Eel Pot, a man named Pete, told the Eagle that the burglars pried open a back door to get into the Eel Pot, which closed early Sunday at about 12:30 a.m.
“They just got cash from the cash register,” he said. “I’m not sure how much.” Luckily, he said “they came in with crowbars and not guns.”
When the staff arrived on Sunday to open for business, they found the cash register drawer was open, he said. The Eel Pot, located on Meadow St., has been burglarized in the past, he said.
At Tommy Sullivan’s restaurant there was a report that the burglars simply stole the entire cash register. The restaurant did not return calls seeking comment.
Police believe the burglars had cased all the restaurants. They knew where the outside and inside cameras were located. Eli’s may have been the only restaurant with a motion detector. That made a difference.
Police said there has been a major increase in overnight burglaries. Thieves break into the restaurants some time after they close and before they reopen the next day. Usually the thieves use a rear door, or enter after breaking a small window or by jiggling a lock, police said.
When it comes to stealing cash from registers, however, not that much is stolen, Capt. Geoffrey Morgan said in an interview. It’s whatever the burglars find in the cash register. Typically restaurants don’t leave drawers filled with cash overnight.
Most of the restaurants have commercial burglar alarms. Eli’s had video surveillance, which enabled police to capture the photos above.
Three of the restaurants have a video surveillance system, but the burglars may have been able to disarm all but one of them.
As the police continue their investigation into the burglaries, they are also asking restaurant owners to take stock of their security. “Prevention, prevention, prevention,” is the key, Capt. Morgan said. “That is why we are letting everyone know about this rash of burglaries.”
The police urged restaurant owners not to leave cash in the register or hidden somewhere inside the restaurant.
Capt. Morgan gave a series of tips that include securing doors and windows before leaving the business for the night, upgrading old or defective doors and door locks, putting in effective lighting around their doors and windows and making sure all alarms and video surveillance systems are operating properly.
Capt. Morgan said nearby communities have reported similar types of burglaries in recent months.
He also suggested paying attention to customers or suspicious people who may be canvassing their restaurant during business hours. Finally they asked those in charge to report any suspicious activity to police immediately. The Branford police number is: 203 – 481-4241
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Other than Lion City each of these places is isolated, in a lot by itself with no other buildings nearby. If I were the owners of places like Jalapeno Heaven, the Elm Cafe or Marco's Pizza I'd be extra careful.