Another Bungled Burglary

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 10, 2009 8:40PM

It seems as if some burglars in West Rogers Park had to make due with some shampoo after they failed to gain access to a jewelry store. Police investigated a burglary at Dilshad's Hair Design but discovered the thieves had tried to dig through the wall and into a neighboring jewelry store, N.P. Jewelers. One problem: they weren't able to get the hole big enough - only a few inches across on the N.P. Jewelers side - before an alarm sounded. Unlike the Lincoln Square burglars from last week, these guys seemed to sorta know what they were doing. Peter Chandani, owner of N.P. Jewelers, told the Tribune the hole opened up into the shop at one of the few places along the wall that weren't blocked: "They may have scoped it out. They must have done their homework." The Trib's report continues:

Chandani later viewed a security video taken by a camera the gangway behind the building. The video showed three young men arrive there at about 8:30 p.m. and trying to hit or nudge the camera with a broomstick, he said.

The men left and returned at about 9:30 p.m. They then broke into the salon through the rear door and started working on the wall, police said, but they had to abandon their quest about twenty minutes later when the jewelry store's alarm was tripped.

Chandani doesn't know if it was the sound of the alarm that panicked the men or a phone call to the store from the alarm company once the sensors were tripped. Either way, two people were seen getting into a car -- possibly a white Honda -- in the gangway at about 9:50 p.m. and driving east away from the scene.

But just like those unlucky Lincoln Square burglars last week, these guys were bound to end up without the loot they had hoped for. Chandani pointed out that all the jewelry is stored in locked safes overnight, making it unlikely that they would have made out with much of anything, saying, "The most they would've gotten away with was $100 from the register." The thieves had to console themselves with a few bottles of shampoo stolen from the salon.