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A protected containing $300, and two weed whackers have been stolen Saturday from the Agriculture Department’s workplace on St. Croix.
It marks the second time in as a few years {that a} protected was taken from the company, though the quantity in money was significantly lower than the $12,000 stolen in January 2020.
On Sunday, Agriculture Department Commissioner Positive Nelson instructed The Daily News when reached that people broke into the cashier’s workplace in addition to the land-equipment store within the newest heist.
“It’s sad because it appears whoever the thieves are, they know where to go,” he mentioned.
V.I. Police spokesman Glen Dratte instructed The Daily News {that a} feminine administrative staffer from the Agriculture Department referred to as 911 round 7:29 a.m. Saturday and reported that she met the door to the cashier’s workplace “wide open” and that the protected was lacking.
The employees member additionally reported {that a} digicam within the workplace “was sticking through the window.” Dratte clarified, when requested, that the digicam apparently was tinkered with and pointed to face outdoors the window, relatively than contained in the workplace.
Nelson, nonetheless, mentioned {that a} digicam picked up the culprits carrying hoodies and masks, and that he hopes police can decide who they’re.
“This is a set back to all of us, hopefully these things are not happening internally, and it shows us that we need a better handle on security,” Nelson mentioned.
Nelson mentioned as a lot in January 2020, when the division additionally reported a housebreaking, the place a protected went lacking with almost $40,000 in money and checks.
In that incident, Nelson reported that $12,000 in money and $27,275 in checks have been stolen, because the division had been gathering funds from distributors collaborating within the forty ninth annual Agriculture and Food Fair.
The break-in was reported to V.I. Police on Jan. 28, 2020, a day after the division collected distributors’ charges and a $25,000 sponsorship examine from the V.I. Tourism Department for the truthful.
At the time Nelson instructed The Daily News he believed the perpetrator accountable is “someone with knowledge of the safe and the funds” that have been meant to be stored on the grounds in a single day.
“That is just my assessment,” he mentioned on the time.
The V.I. Police Department issued an announcement confirming the theft was reported the morning of Jan. 28, however did so almost per week after it occurred.
Nelson, when requested Sunday, mentioned he was “not aware of” any arrests made within the earlier housebreaking.
Dratte mentioned the investigation into this previous weekend’s housebreaking is ongoing, and that he didn’t instantly know the end result of the final one.
“We are looking into the progress from the previous burglary,” Dratte mentioned.
Nelson mentioned Sunday that because the 2020 housebreaking, Agriculture put in cameras and employed safety officers. He confirmed that the safety officers have been on the division’s grounds, and indicated that the open space has confirmed to be a difficulty.
He mentioned that “proper fencing” across the perimeter might assist deter thieves, and referred to a different incident the place somebody drove a go-cart off the property.
“The camera picked them up busting through the goat wire fence, but we did retrieve that back,” Nelson mentioned.
Police urge anybody with data on both burglaries to name 911 or Crime Stoppers USVI nameless tip line 1-800-222-8477
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