JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police said there were six burglaries to Asian restaurants in Jacksonville since September 20th, all occurring in the late night and early morning hours.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the burglaries were at restaurants in the Arlington/Regency area, Baymeadows Road and North Main Street.
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The burglars forced entry through the rear doors and took cash and other items of value, police said.
The manager of Happy Wok off Beach Boulevard wanted to remain anonymous, but told Channel 4 they have had multiple incidents in the past couple of months.
"They came in, no mask, held them at gunpoint and stole $3,000," the restaurant manager said. "That was the first time we were robbed. Maybe three weeks ago one of our delivery drivers also got robbed on a delivery and maybe like, Wednesday I believe, when I came in, I found out someone tried to break in to our back door. "They broke the door knob first then they tried to take the crow bar and break in."
Police offered some safety tips to help prevent from being a victim:
- Make sure all outside entrances and inside security doors have deadbolt locks. If using padlocks, they should be made of steel and kept locked at all times.
- All outside or security doors should be metal-lined and secured with metal security crossbars.
- Light the inside and outside of the business, especially around doors, windows, skylights or other entry points.
- Keep cash registers in plain view from the outside of the business so it can be monitored by police during the day or at night. Leave it open and empty after closing.
Anyone who has any information about these burglaries is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.
Happy Wok's manager hopes these crimes come to an end soon. She says it's making it hard for people to live a normal life.
"Those of you who are robbing us and other restaurants, it's easier to get a job then to rob someone," she said. "People have children, lives they have to live and when you're doing things like this you're scaring them and making them not want to work."