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A man wearing a “Phantom of the Opera” mask allegedly burglarized at least four Palo Alto businesses early Wednesday morning, police said Friday.
The four burglaries occurred on Nov. 14 roughly from 2-3 a.m., according to a press release. In all four cases, the burglar smashed the businesses’ windows and stole the cash registers.
Police responded to a call regarding an alarm activated at 2:13 a.m. at Vino Vino Wine, located at 437 California Ave. At 4:30 a.m., a passerby called police to report a smashed window at the Simple Be Salon, located at 530 University Ave. A third burglary was reported at 5:30 a.m. at Subway, located at 421 California Ave. And at 8:23 a.m., police responded to a fourth report of a commercial burglary at Sushi House, at 855 El Camino Real. The latter two burglaries were reported when employees discovered the damage upon arriving to work, police said.
Surveillance footage showed the suspect wearing a white Phantom of the Opera mask during the burglaries. Security cameras outside of Subway, however, captured the man without the mask.
He is described as a black man with a medium build, of average height and with some facial hair.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the police’s free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
Doesn’t he know that most businesses empty out their cash registers upon the close of business? If anything, they the leave a small ‘bank’ (roughly $50.00 or so) to begin the next day’s business.
Risking jail/prison time (if caught) for about $250.00 in cash is hardly worth the effort. Not a very bright move…but all things considered.