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Business, open 4 days, is robbed by burglars
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CRIME FIGHTER: Bob DeVicchio, owner of Bogey’s Bar and Grill in Coitsville, is doing everything he can to prevent another break-in at his business. He blocked up the back entrance to the building, where burglars got in earlier this month.
Cellular backup service, offered by most alarm companies, is a good tool for stopping burglars, police said.
COITSVILLE — Bogey’s Bar and Grill, a new business on state Route 616, was up and running for four days when burglars hit.
In the overnight hours Oct. 5, they broke in a back door. They stole three flat-screen TVs — a 55-inch and two 37-inch ones.
“They smashed my registers up,” said owner Bob DeVicchio.
They also took the microwave and meat slicer out of his kitchen.
Not far from Bogey’s, the Knoll Run Golf Course also has been burglarized. Burglars broke in there overnight Sept. 28, said Coitsville Detective Keith Brown. It was the second burglary at Knoll Run in six months, said Brown — the golf course was hit back in April.
There has been an increase in burglaries in the township in recent months among residences and businesses, Brown said, though he doesn’t believe “we’re the only ones.”
Around the time of the first break-in at the golf course, his department got a memo about four golf courses in Lawrence County being burglarized, he said.
He said he also had word that burglaries are up in Trumbull County.
For Coitsville, the number of burglaries isn’t huge.
The township distinguishes burglaries from break-ins, said Brown, with break-ins largely meaning entries into outbuildings such as sheds.
In August, there were two break-ins and one burglary. September saw two burglaries and two break-ins, and October so far has seen two break-ins.
“That’s still more than normal,” he said.
Brown said the economy could be part of the reason why. People being out of work and the approaching holidays could be prompting the increase, he said.
But there are steps people can take to thwart burglars, said Brown and Coitsville Police Chief Michael Morris.
The obvious ways to prevent a break-in are to lock doors and windows and shut garage doors, said Brown.
He also said that if people see suspicious activity, they should call police right away. He said many times, people wait until hours later to call.
Morris said more people need to check in to cellular backup service through their alarm companies. The burglars that have hit recently have been cutting alarm wires.
Most alarm companies offer the service, said Morris and Brown.
“If someone disrupts the service at your home, there’s an automatic call that goes to your cell phone,” Brown said.
At Bogey’s, the alarm was cut. DeVicchio didn’t have the backup service then, he said, but he does now.
He has also blocked up the back door that the burglars broke through.
DeVicchio said that even though police are short-handed, they have managed to beef up patrols in the area of the restaurant.
He said that if he has to, he’ll sit in his parking lot or hide in the woods to protect his property.
Brown said the investigation into the burglaries is continuing, and that it’s likely the burglars are local rather than from Youngstown or Campbell.
“We do have some good leads,” he said.