No obvious forced entry, but thief takes safe, cash registers, electronics from restaurant

ST. GEORGE After having thousands of dollar’s worth of equipment taken earlier this week, the owner of Chef Alfredo’s restaurant is warning others in the neighborhood to be alert and cautious so the same doesn’t happen to them.

It’s estimated that the theft at Chef Alfredo’s, which is located in the Green Gate Village at 76 Tabernacle Street next to Judd’s Store, occurred sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning, St. George Police officer Tiffany Atkin said.

Hector Ortega, Chef Alfredo’s general manager, told St. George News that between $8,000 and $10,000 worth of electronics and other items were taken from the restaurant prior to its opening Tuesday afternoon.

When a staff member arrived to work that afternoon, nothing seemed out of the ordinary as there weren’t any noticeable signs of forced entry. However, that changed when the staff member attempted to clock in using the swipe-card system, Ortega said. The system didn’t activate and it was soon discovered the wires to it had been cut and taken.

A sweep of the building showed that cash registers, a computer, the hard drive to the surveillance system, a safe and other items were missing.

What stuck out to Ortega was that none of the doors appeared to be forced open and no windows were broken.

“It was very strange,” he said.

The incident was reported to the St. George Police Department and is being investigated, Atkin said. However, due to the active nature of the investigation she declined to comment further.

The burglary is being treated as a learning experience, Ortega said, and precautions are being taken to secure the restaurant against future thefts.

Ortega nonetheless passed along the restaurant owner’s words of caution to others be alert and to be prepared it hopefully doesn’t happens to them.

“It happened in our neighborhood – watch out,” Ortega said.

Atkin echoed the sentiment to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity in the area and in general.

“If you see something, say something,” she said.

Anyone with information possibly related to the burglary is asked to called the St. George Police Department at 435-627-4300.

Ed. note: This article has been updated to correctly identify the nature of the crime.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MoriKessler

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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