SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., - Eight businesses were burglarized early Thursday and another four were vandalized in SouthLake Tahoe. Two of the businesses hit were among several targeted the night before, police said.
The burglaries and vandalism remained under investigation with multiple officers working the cases, said South Lake Tahoe police Lt. Marty Hale.
While police wouldn't comment on specifics of the investigations, there were multiple surveillance cameras running at the time of the burglaries, Hale said. At least one of the burglaries was documented as happening around midnight.
South Lake Tahoe Police Officer Angie Kallstrom added they are investigating whether there is a connection between the BB gun vandalism and the burglaries.
On Thursday, Sno Flake Drive-In was burglarized, as was Classic Cue, Colombo's Burger A-Go-Go on Emerald Bay Road, Keys Cafe, Stir it Up, Baskin Robbins, Hong Kong Chinese Food and the Babe Ruth Snack Shop.
There was vandalism with BB gun shots fired at Al Tahoe Laundromat, the Floor Show on Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Carrows on West Lake Tahoe Boulevard, Hale said.
On Wednesday the Sno Flake Drive-In, Carrows restaurant, 2397 Lake Tahoe Blvd., Izzy's Burger Spa, Tahoe One-Hour Cleaners, Romantic Adventures and the Tahoe Daily Tribune office were vandalized.
Sno Flake Drive-In had two windows smashed out and the cash registers tampered with, while Carrows was targeted for the second time in two nights with a BB gun, Hale said.
Sno Flake owner Duncan Sennott, whose business was struck twice, said the window shooting and burglary may cost him about $4,000 in repairs, damages and lost business.
"Last year during the Angora fire I saw the best part of this town. And in the past two days, I've seen the worst," Sennott said.
Like Sno Flake, Colombo's Burger-A-Go-Go on Emerald Bay Road was burglarized overnight, with thieves breaking a back window to enter the restaurant.
Owner Jim York said when he locks up at night he leaves the cash register open because he doesn't keep money in it.
"We lost a window and $3 out of the tip jar," he said.
A victim of BB gun vandalism sometime Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, the owner of Romantic Adventures on Lake Tahoe Boulevard called the vandalism "outrageous."
Outraged by the attacks on their businesses, some owners suggested they're willing to stay at their shops overnight for however long it takes for the criminals to be caught.
Anyone with information on the crimes is asked to call the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at (530) 542-6110.
See surveillance video of one incident vandalism at www.nevadaappeal.com.