Mike Sweeney, owner of Sweeney’s Clothing in Soldotna, spent his Monday calling his insurance provider and changing the store’s locks after a Christmas morning break-in.
Members of the Soldotna Police Department responded to a call from Sweeney’s hired alarm company around 1:46 a.m. on Friday, said Soldotna Police Chief Peter Mlynarik. The intruder broke one of the store’s front display windows to get inside before taking money from the register, Mlynarik said.
The thief went right to the register, took about $2,000 cash and about $1,700 in checks, and was gone within a few minutes, Sweeney said. Soldotna Police called Sweeney to let him know about the break-in, and he got to the shop around 2 a.m. that morning to survey the damage.
“They were in and out in a very short time,” he said. “They must have known the store a little bit … they had to plan it.”
Sweeney said the store is equipped with security, which he hopes will help the police find a suspect. Mlynarik said there are no suspects identified yet, and that Soldotna police are still investigating.
A board currently covers the broken display window, but Sweeney plans to get a cost estimate on Tuesday and will replace it as soon as possible, he said. Sweeney said the majority of the store’s sales come through credit and debit cards, so the monetary damage was relatively minor.
“It could have been worse, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.
