UPDATE: Downtown Half Moon Bay Hit by Series of Break-Ins

Update 4:19 p.m. 9/19: Lt. Lisa Williams, head of the Half Moon Bay substation of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, reports that the Sheriff's Office has suspect leads in the break-in cases, but does not have physical descriptions of those suspects.

"Because they were so different in the types of businesses impacted, they appeared not to be related," Williams told Half Moon Bay Patch.  "There was no indication that they were connected until the spate of burglaries this weekend [Sept. 16-17]," she said. 

Williams specified that the break-in to Half Moon Bay Chiropractic occurred sometime in the evening between Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, and was reported on Sept. 7.

Main St. Grill, Williams said, was broken into via a rear sliding glass window, while the Half to Have It store was entered through an unlocked ground level window.

Update 1:23 p.m. 9/19: The Half Moon Bay City Council was informed on Saturday morning 9/17 about the downtown break-ins, according to Councilmember Rick Kowalczyk and City Manager Laura Snideman.  

Rick Kowalczyk specified that the Sheriff notified Snideman first, and then Snideman informed the city council on Saturday morning about the break-ins.

Update 12:09 p.m. 9/19: This morning, the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce CEO Charise McHugh sent out an email alert informing business owners about the series of burglaries.

The email read as follows:

"Over the weekend there were a series of commercial burglaries that occurred in Half Moon Bay.

During the burglaries, access was gained via unlocked, ground level, windows and/or doors. After entering, the suspect gains access to the registers, which are either an open box with money or left with the power "on." The suspect merely has to "ring" a sale to for the register to open. 

Please, take a moment to re-evaluate your closing/security procedures to protect your business. 

If you would like, the Sheriff's Department will have a deputy do a security walk through of your business to make suggestions on how you can better protect your business. Call them at (650) 363-4911 for more information."

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Downtown business owners in Half Moon Bay are cautioning their peers to secure their windows and lock their doors after thieves walked away with hundreds dollars in cash after a series of eight break-ins over the last two weeks, according to information provided by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and local business owners.

Sheriff's Office Sgt. Gonzales said that they have pulled prints from the surfaces of two businesses that were affected.

Gonzales did not say whether or not any suspects had been identified at this time.

Incidents "appear to be related"

According to Gonzales, the incidents appear to be related, based on the time, method of entry and area where the break-ins occurred.

"They appear to be checking doors and windows," he said.

According to several of the business owners, the burglars appeared to be primarily interested in cash.

Eight break-ins downtown reported within less than two-weeks

September 16-17: Four incidents reported

Main St. businesses , , and were broken into sometime during the period between Friday night and Saturday morning, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and Mike and Allan Alifano, owners of Main St. business .

According to Gourmet Appliance owner Rebecca Seeley, the burglars entered through an unlocked side window of her business — after jumping an approximately 7-foot high chain link fence erected between and the building that houses her store.

"They walked off with our safe, since they couldn't find our cash register drawer, but there was nothing in the safe," said Seeley.

Seeley said that the police detected two sets of footsteps in her store. They dusted for fingerprints on one of her counters, she said, and also examined a footprint on a display shelf located just under the window sash where the break-in is suspected to have taken place. (See media box at right for a photo of the footprint).

Paper Crane owner Doug Stow — whose stationery and paper goods store is connected to Seeley's kitchen supply store without any security barrier — discovered the burglary mid-Saturday morning when he attempted to make change for a customer and found all of his cash missing.

Seeley said that the Sheriff's Department informed her that the burglars also attempted entry through a side window of the , but failed.

No merchandise was stolen from either of their stores, Stow and Seeley said.

When Stow notified Seeley of the break-in, she contacted the Alifanos. Allan Alifano — also the Vice Mayor of Half Moon Bay — contacted the Sheriff's Department over the weekend. Mike Alifano notified executive Charise McHugh on Saturday afternoon about the burglaries so that she could notify local business owners.

Seeley said that the Main St. Grill was entered through its crawlspace. The Sheriff's Office could not be reached to confirm this report by the time of publication.

September 9: Three incidents reported

, , and recently-arrived Morrissey-Compton Educational Center on the corner of Purissima and Kelly St. were broken into on the evening of Sept. 9, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, cafe owner Luz Desalesa and bookstore owner Cindy Whittemore.

Whittemore said that while the Sheriff's Office told her that they think the thieves entered through an unlocked door, she believes they came in through a window.

Like Paper Crane and the Gourmet Appliance Company stores, Ink Spell Books and La Di Da Cafe are connected through an opening between each of their businesses.

Whittemore and Desalesa believe that the intruders entered the cafe through a square "window" opening which lacks a glass pane. The window is normally used to transfer La Di Da's coffee to bookstore customers.

"We saw footprints on the base of the window," Whittemore said.

Cash was taken from her business through a drawer, said Desalesa. Whittemore said that the thieves accessed her computer and rang up a "sale" on her cash register at 10:55 p.m. on Sept. 9, just ten minutes after she clocked out of her store following a celebratory book swap event.

Whittemore said she remembers seeing three individuals standing on the corner near her store when she exited Ink Spell on the evening of Sept. 9. One had a skateboard and one had a flashlight, she said.

Because it was dark, she said, she could not discern their ages nor specific characteristics in the individuals' appearance.

A police log released by the Half Moon Bay substation of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office documents a logged of $450 stolen from businesses overnight in the 500 block of Purissima St. where the cafe and bookstore are located. The incident was reported on Sept. 10, the day Desalesa and Whittemore discovered the break-in.

Whittemore did not confirm to Half Moon Bay Patch whether cash had been taken from her business.

Desalesa said that despite two computers located in the Morrissey-Compton Educational Center office, nothing was taken from the business.

The cafe owner also pointed out a blue graffiti tag on a bench that she said she discovered around midday the day after the break-in occurred. The bench is located between Ink Spell and La Di Da Cafe.

September 7: One incident reported

Two days earlier, on the morning of Sept. 7, $140 in cash and an iPod was reported stolen from a medical office in the 700 block of Main St., according to the same police that reported the Purissima St. incident. According to Allan Alifano, the Sheriff's Office told him that located at 711 Main St. was also broken into recently.

No merchandise or other goods were taken from The Paper Crane, Gourmet Appliance Company, Ink Spell Books or La Di Da Cafe, according to the owners of these businesses interviewed for this story.

Downtown merchants reportedly not informed after initial break-ins

Seeley said she thinks that additional break-ins could have been prevented if downtown business owners had been informed after the initial incidents occurred. 

"I'm upset — why couldn't the city and the Sheriff's Office have let us know about this? I can't believe they didn't warn us," she said.

"We heard about the previous break-ins after it happened to us," she said.

"Our merchants and our city should be protected," she said.

A spokesperson for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and the city of Half Moon Bay were not able to be reached for comment on this matter by the time of publication.

Business owners taking precautions

Several merchants reported beefing up security in response to these incidents, such as Whittemore at Ink Spell Books.

"We've tightened security," she said.

Seeley said that in addition to action taken at Gourmet Appliance, she and her husband were also "locking down" at , the second Main St. business she owns with her husband.

"We're going to put in surveilance cameras," Seeley said.

Affected merchants have been spreading the word to their peers this weekend. While Seeley said she warned Carol Patin-Gipe, owner of Main St. boutique , about the break-ins, Stow said he cautioned owner Kim Levin, whose restaurant is located in the same building as his.

Stow said that the Sheriff's Office instructed him not to leave any cash in his store overnight.

As of 11:15 p.m. on September 18, a Sheriff's Office Sgt. was not available to provide additional information about these incidents.

Half Moon Bay Patch will continue to follow this story and provide more information as it becomes available.

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