By Tanya Steele and Callum Ludwig
Police are investigating after multiple burglaries overnight in Healesville.
Healesville Jewellers, the Sloppy Seconds clothing shop and Payten and Jones Winery were targeted, leaving owners devastated and keen for justice
Sergeant Officer-in-charge at Healesville Police Kirsty Swankie said the burglaries are being investigated by Healesville Police and the Yarra Ranges Crime Investigation Unit (CIU).
“We have CCTV and are trying to ID some offenders, the investigation is of high priority,” she said.
Sally Piper has owned Healesville Jewellers for 32 years and went to enter her store from the back on Friday 24 March when she noticed the front window was smashed in two places.
Ms Piper said she didn’t see it until she had already started setting up for the day.
“I just started and I looked up and thought it’s really weird there was a silvery snaky effect on the glass and at first I thought someone had fallen against the shutters.”
“I saw the hole from the inside and I came out. I called the police straight away before learning they were already in the area. They didn’t get into the back of the shop, so that’s a blessing.”
The store was mostly secure due to the alarm system and security shutters but a few items were stolen through the storefront window and Ms Piper was quite shaken up by the incident. Friends and passersby stopped throughout to comfort her with coffee and flowers while she waited for the crime squad to investigate further.
Eyewitness Ian Callen lives across the road from the Healesville Jewelers and was awoken by banging on the shop windows and saw two people using a phone light to look at the windows.
“At about 12.20am we heard them kicking panels and they were using their phones to shine onto the locks. Susan was on the phone to the police at this stage,” he said.
The pair returned around 1.30am and smashed the security doors and windows
Mr Callen opened his window facing the street and yelled out, at which point the pair ran down the street.
Around 1.43am the same pair broke into Sloppy Seconds and owner Mitch Smith said they stole about $300 worth of very identifiable men’s designer clothing.
“It was the sports t-shirts, the band tees, the Ralph Lauren, and this is the second time we’ve been targeted. We are pretty annoyed, we do a lot on the street, we’ve fixed the property up next door and property up down the end,” Mitch said.
“In the last six to eight months, I haven’t opened very often because the amount of theft in store has been ridiculous. I’m going to close, that’s it, I’m done. We had a lot of fun post-Covid but this isn’t fun at all.”
There were signs at Payten and Jones Winery that someone tried to enter through the rear of the building, before smashing through a glass door on the side of the building, entering and then setting off the alarm. This was also the second time they had been targeted recently, with a washroom window still boarded up after a previous break-in attempt.
Anyone with information is urged to please contact Yarra Ranges CIU at 03 9739 2401, Healesville Police at (03) 5962 4422 or submit a report via Crime Stoppers.
