MADEIRA, Ohio — A pair of burglars broke into a Madeira liquor store and made off with an unspecified dollar-amount of merchandise – but it’s what they took and how they’re trying to get rid of it that might be their eventual downfall.
“They came in the middle of the night, broke out the window,” Spirits of Madeira co-owner Linda Kern said.
The alarm company’s call came close to 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, August 26, she said.
“They were already gone, so the glass is smashed and the lottery tickets were torn and on the floor,” Kern said.
The men stole alcohol, cigarettes and handfuls of scratch-off lottery tickets.
“We’ve got a picture of one of them,” Kern said. “The other one had a mask on, so we really didn’t get a good picture of him.”
Madeira police posted the image on social media asking for help identifying the man. They also showed a white sedan that investigators said was used during the crime.
Authorities said someone even tried to cash those stolen lottery tickets multiple times and police are working with the Ohio Lottery to get the surveillance video as well.
“Not the smartest thing they’ve done is try to cash the lottery tickets,” Kern said. “The state, they know exactly where those tickets are all the time.”
This marks the third time the store has been robbed this year – something Kern said she hasn’t had to deal with before.
“It’s just annoying,” she said. “We’re just here trying to make a living. We’ve been here 30 years and, really, this is the worst year for problems we’ve ever had.”
Kern said Madeira police made arrests in the previous two robberies this year and is hopeful for the same result in this latest crime.
Anyone who recognizes the man in the picture is asked to call the Madeira Police Department.
