Police Investigate Business Burglaries in Simsbury, Canton, Avon

A break-in at a Simsbury restaurant may be connected to several other burglaries that took place early Friday morning, according to police.

When Simsbury Police received notice from Canton police about reported burglaries at two Canton businesses, officers were instructed to increase patrols around Simsbury commercial areas, according to Captain Nicholas Boulter.

"One of our patrol officers was checking businesses and discovered that someone had broken in to Old Town Pizza," Boulter said.

An officer noticed the front door to Old Town Pizza at 1616 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury had been kicked in but saw no signs of theft.

"As far as we know, nothing was stolen," Boulter said.

Canton police are investigating burglaries at Hollywood Nails, 221 Albany Turnpike, and Head First Hair Design and Company, 140 Albany Turnpike. Police discovered signs of burglary in the Route 44 Canton businesses at 3 a.m. on Friday. It's not clear if they're related to the Avon break-ins.

"Surrounding towns have reported similar instances occurring overnight," Avon police said in a press release. "The Detective Division is actively investigating with surrounding towns to develop information."

Avon detectives are investigating burglaries at The Hair Loft in Building 15 at Riverdale Farms Shopping Center (136 Simsbury Rd.) and Kevin Edward Jewelers at 395 West Main St.

At 2:29 a.m. Friday, police responded to a burglar alarm at Kevin Edward Jewelers, finding the door smashed.

"It has been confirmed that items were taken from within the store, but the amount or what types cannot be confirmed at this time," Avon police said in a press release.

Maura Fitzgerald, owner of The Hair Loft, was notified Friday morning at 7:30 a.m. about the break-in. The burglary happened overnight and police responded at 8:08 a.m.

"The maintenance crew within the complex discovered it and called me this morning and said the door was kicked in," Fitzgerald said. “The door was literally kicked in off its hinges.”

She said that police told her the break-in likely occurred around 1 or 1:30 a.m., but that is unconfirmed.

Fitzgerald said that nothing was taken, but that the cash register drawer was damaged. It appears the culprits were looking for quick cash, but there wasn't any money in the cash drawer because it was locked away in a safe overnight, she said.

“We were really lucky," Fitgerald said, adding that no other businesses were targeted in Riverdale Farms.

A contractor is scheduled to come in Friday to fix the solid wooden door that was knocked to the ground. The business was still open it's normal hours Friday.

"We are working with police in Avon and Canton to investigate these burglaries," Boulter said.

Police have not determined at this point whether the burglaries are connected.

Editor's Note: This article was last updated at 3:25 p.m. on March 22.