String of break-ins leaves 4th Street plaza businesses on edge

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –  A North Valley business plaza said someone smashed their way into the building with a sledgehammer, and it happened more than once over the weekend.

“It’s very frustrating just because, you know, we’re a small business as it is. We work hard to just have what we have and then to have to deal with that. It is very frustrating, exhausting, and you don’t feel safe. You don’t feel comfortable,” said Hype ABQ Nutrition Owner Madonna.

The Hype ABQ Nutrition is located on 4th St. near Griegos; the owner said the break-in happened early Saturday morning with someone using a sledgehammer to break a hole in the back wall.

Surveillance footage inside showed the man stealing money from the cash register then struggling to squeeze his way out through the gaping hole.

“To actually fix the hole, just the boarding and stuff like that, was about $200, and then the cash we had about $200. It’s a good thing we didn’t have anything else, and the alarm system went off, so that kind of got them out of there.”

It’s not the first break-in. Another one happened a year ago, forcing the business to add metal bars, but they said thieves are getting creative.

“The bars, obviously, it’s helping because it’s harder to get in, but now it’s like the wall, there’s other ways.”

Some neighboring businesses were also hit over the weekend, including Cranium Cannabis Co. where someone got in on Sunday morning by creating a hole in the wall with an axe.

Surveillance footage showed two people inside stealing clothes, glassware, and lighters. A third business inside the same plaza had damage to its back wall but said no one made it inside.

An Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson sent this statement:

“The cases are being assigned today. The means of entry appears to be the same, but it would be premature to definitely say it is the same suspect at this time.”

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