Craft beer store grand opening robbery could be part of crime pattern
The recent burglary of an Oakdale craft beer store hours after its grand opening event is just one incident in a pattern, the store's owner said.
Jason Alvey, whose Four Firkins store's new Oakdale location was burglarized earlier this month, said the three people shown on surveillance video knew where his security cameras were and how to avoid facing them directly.
"They're not amateurs," Alvey said. "They've done this before."
Alvey wouldn't disclose what the burglars took from the 1,500 square foot store when they broke in the morning of Oct. 12 or how much it was worth. The store had been open a few weeks before the event.
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"We were obviously cased. They knew that we were having a grand opening," Alvey said.
But Alvey talked to some Twin Cities small business owners after the incident, he said, and found others who had been burglarized shortly after grand opening events.
The Four Firkins has since upgraded security and repositioned its cameras at the Oakdale location, and Alvey said business has been good.
Police are still working on the case, Alvey said. The Oakdale Police Department could not be reached for comment.