3 Riverside Businesses Targeted by Burglars

Burglars struck a Riverside shopping center over the Christmas holiday and Greenwich detectives are investigating the burglaries of two Riverside businesses and the attempted break-in of a third.

Officers responded to a burglar alarm at the Pomodoro Pizzeria at 1247 E. Putnam Ave. in the Riverside Common shopping center at 1:51 a.m. Dec. 25.

Police spokesman Lt. Kraig Gray said a rear door to the restaurant had been pried open and a small amount of cash taken from the cash register.

Police also discovered “there was an attempted rooftop burglary of Acme,” Gray said. He would not say how police made that determination or how the burglars accessed the roof.

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Later Christmas morning, the owner of the nearby DiMare Pastry Shop called police to report that someone pried open the rear door and stole cash from the register, Gray said.

Gray said all three businesses had alarm systems and said, “there is nothing to release at this time,” when asked whether there was any surveillance video in any of the three businesses.

“Based on the location, they are likely linked,” Gray said. “Typically commercial burglaries are not crimes of opportunity like a car being open and a purse sitting on the seat. These are people with plans, professional burglars with different degrees of experience,” Gray added.

He advised that businesses “should have strong locks, an alarm system that’s operational and an updated call (contact) list for police.”