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Raytown business owners warn others of increased crime

Posted at 4:54 PM, Aug 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-06 22:28:08-04

RAYTOWN, Mo. — Business owners in one area of Raytown, Missouri, are warning others about an increased crime.

Elisa Breitenbach opened Doughboys Donuts 8 years ago near 63rd Street and Woodson Road and hasn't experienced problems with crime until recently.

"You know, I have heard of this and seen this in other areas, but not in this area, not in our shopping center, we've not had really any problems to speak of," she said.

In the past two weeks, several thefts were caught on the surveillance cameras at Doughboys Donuts.

In one video, a black car is seen driving by one of the cameras, and moments later, a man is caught digging through Breitenbach's parked car on the back side of the building.

Breitenbach said it happened around 8 a.m. while she was inside cleaning the shop.

"We were just tired and comfortable and foolishly left them unlocked," she said.

A few days prior to the theft, Doughboys Donuts caught another theft on camera.

Breitenbach said her footage shows a man taking several bags full of aluminum cans and putting them in his pick-up truck. She said the shop had been collecting empty pop and beer cans for months to help out a local family in need.

Nextdoor to Doughboys Donuts is Ginger's Restaurant. One employee told 41 Action News she was outside when a man broke into her car.

Lindsay Pena-White said it happened after 8 a.m. nearly two weeks ago. She recalled feeling shocked as she watched the man move things from her car and into his.

"Just taking stuff out of my car and I asked him nicely to put it back and he told me no," Pena-White said.

Both businesses reported the incidents to Raytown Police who said a third nearby business, Fantastic Sam's, was also burglarized.

Police told 41 Action News they found the man who stole the aluminum cans, and they were returned.

They also said Breitenbach's car break-in is still an active investigation, but the Ginger's Restaurant theft and the Fantastic Sam's break-in are in need of leads and suspect information.

Breitenbach said people need to talk about the crimes being committed so they can take action.

"It's very important that people walk the area and let other neighbors and friends know what is happening, because then we can all look out for one another and that's what we really need here," she said.

Raytown Police encourage anyone who has fallen victim to a crime, to file a police report in-person or online to help them better track incidents and cases.