Dumb crook

Yesterday, in the wee hours of the morning, Mick's cell phone rang. This couldn't be good. Middle of the night calls usually mean that the freezer has gone down (i.e. ice cream melting) or an alarm sensor has been triggered. This time, however, it was the Porltand police calling to let us know someone had smashed in the front window of the fish and chip shop to break in. We rushed down there and found this:

We always leave the cash drawer open so that if a crook breaks in, and wants the small amount of money left in the drawer, they can take the money without breaking the cash register. This crook was apparently too dumb to realize that the drawer was open. He worked really hard for the $30 he made off with. First of all, he spent about 20 minutes banging on the window trying to break it. Here's pictures of the rocks he brought to do the job.


After breaking the window, the crook went though the window and to the cash register. Apparently not noticing that the drawer was open, he moved some shelves so that he could unplug the register, and then, dropping money all over the place, went back through the window with the register. At that point, he must have realized that the drawer was open, because he left the register on the sidewalk and took the money he hadn't dropped all over the shop. He must have guessed that the doors were alarmed because he didn't open any doors.

A neighbor heard the banging and called the police. Unfortunately, the officers that are usually nearby were in different spots dealing with other situations. By the time they made it, the crook had gotten away. The police said that we should put a sign in the window that says "No cash on premises overnight" because it actually prevents these types of crimes. I put one up.
Luckily, we were able to get the mess cleaned up and the window replaced before opening time.