LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Three businesses in Chinatown off of Wynn Road near Spring Mountain Road are sifting through the damage after a spree of burglaries Wednesday morning.
Metro Police held a presser at noon Wednesday to discuss the latest burglary spree.
WATCH | Metro press briefing on a string of burglaries in Chinatown.
INITIAL REPORT | Police working to identify suspect in connection to a string of 29 burglaries in the valley
Police said the suspect is not just responsible for these three burglaries, but for 26 others.
“It’s been scary for the staff, you know what if it happens to us again? That’s where it gets scary," said BabyStacks Cafe General Manager Jamie Johnsen.
BabyStacks Cafe is one of the three restaurants burglarized Wednesday. The other two are Gyu and Suzuya.
“He left this stack of coins here for us, that’s what we got to start tomorrow morning," Johnsen said.
During the Metro presser Wednesday, police said this suspect is known for stealing safes and cash, all while hiding their identity.
“Often times it’s dark clothing, but sometimes he wears lighter clothing, but always completely covers up, covers his face, covers his hands," said LVMPD Deputy Chief of the Tourist & Safety Division Jose Hernandez.
Police said the suspect knows where cameras are and commits the crime quickly, they said the suspect burglarized the latest three businesses in just 15 minutes all together.
While the suspect has not been identified, police believe it's a man.
Police are now asking for the community's help in finally catching this suspect.
“We will continue to work this until the suspect is apprehended. Someone knows this individual, someone know what’s occurring here," said Deputy Chief Hernandez.
Police said the 29 total burglaries — they believe this suspect is responsible for — all happened in the Spring Mountain area since June.
Police said the suspect has yet to burglarize the same business location twice during this spree, however, several local business owners told Channel 13 this suspect has burglarized several locations of stores owned by the same person.
“We love this area and it’s been great being down here and the customers that we get, awesome and the community is great, it’s just this string of what’s been going on has been, that’s where we’ve been like 'oh my gosh when is this going to end,'" Johnsen said.
These burglaries have led to lots of damage, broken glass everywhere and missing items, but one of the biggest impacts is the loss of a work day for these small business employees.
“Nobody could make their tips or their hourly so here we are, it’s rough on the business," Johnsen said.
Police told Channel 13 catching this suspect is a top priority. They have labeled this as a "major case protocol" meaning all departments will be putting their resources together to find this person.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Spring Valley Area Command Patrol Investigation section by phone at 702-828-2639 or by email at SVACPD@LVMPD.COM.
To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 702-385- 5555, or on the internet at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.
