YOUR AD HERE »

Rash of crime hits Carbondale stores

Veronica Whitney
El Montanes correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado

CARBONDALE – One store was burglarized and two others were broken into before dawn Sunday in downtown Carbondale, the owners said Sunday.

One of them, Deportes Jennys on Main Street, lost about $6,000 in stolen merchandise, owner Teresa Garcia said.

No thefts were reported from the other two stores, La Perla – another Hispanic store – and the Carbondale Food Co-op, next to Deportes Jennys. Whoever broke the glass door of the co-op couldn’t get to the store’s register and left without stealing any of the merchandise there, said employee Cody Lee.



When a man tried to burglarize La Perla, store owners Tomasa Quintero and her husband, who had been alerted at 3:45 a.m. by the alarm company, surprised the intruder.

Quintero said they saw somebody moving inside the store when they arrived, and they saw that the glass front door had been broken. Then a man ran out of the store, she said.




“I called the police and my husband ran after him, but he got away,” Quintero said Sunday afternoon at her store.

“When we walked in the store there were several bags – similar to large garbage bags – full of brand pants and shirts,” Quintero said. “He was going to take everything. He also tried to open the register, but failed.”

Garcia was very distraught to see a lot of her merchandise missing – including jewelry, pants, shirts and dresses – and more of it ruined by the blood of the thief, who broke a glass door to get in.

“This is the third time they [have stolen] from my store,” she said.

Quintero said she recognized the man who ran out of her store, and he was also caught on a store video camera.

“It’s sad to say that it was a Hispanic man who I have previously seen at the store,” said Quintero, who was also surprised that the alarm company, Apex, called her first before calling the police.

She said she didn’t know if the man was armed.

It is not known if the robbery and break-ins were committed by the same person.

A Carbondale police officer said he could not comment on the case Sunday night. A report was to be filed Monday.

News


See more