At Least 17 Homes And Businesses Broken Into In Flagler County
In the wake of Hurricane Matthew at least 17 homes and businesses were broken into between Friday and Sunday. At least three other break-in attempts were recorded by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office during the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew.
Majority of those homes and businesses had been evacuated by residents and owners escaping the category 3 storm that Flagler County on Friday. The burglaries included the theft of more than 40 guns from a Palm Coast gun store.
A Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Laura Williams, said 14 homes and three commercial properties were hit over the weekend. The burglars unsuccessfully tried to break into two other residents and one other business as well.
Residents reported to deputies that they returned to their homes after the hurricane had passed and found them pried open and items such as, televisions, video games and jewelry, were missing.
A worker at a Cricket Wireless on Palm Coast Parkway NW told deputies she found the store’s back door propped open when she went to check on it on Sunday. Investigators determined there were signs of forced entry and store officials reported that two bags of cash and an undisclosed amount of “petty cash” were missing from the store.
Another incident was reported on Sunday that someone had broken into Robert Weidig Gunsmith in Palm Coast and stole 41 firearms. The owner reported to deputies that he had not been at the business since Thursday afternoon.
In a separate burglary, a Palm Coast man told officers his home along Radcliffe Drive was broken into while he was evacuated and jewelry, electronics and a 2011 Toyota Camry were taken on Saturday. That was one of two burglaries reported on Radcliffe Drive.
Eastgate Lane was another street with multiple burglary reports. One resident on that street said he was sleeping when he heard the glass on his back sliding door shatter and someone enter his home Friday night. Due to the power outage he was unable to call 9-1-1 since his phone was charging in his car. It took about 30 minutes for him to sneak out of his home to call 9-1-1 from a neighbors house.
The Sheriff’s Office said it was unclear whether any of these break-ins were related.