HOPE — Investigators say they have good leads in a series of thefts and burglaries that took place this month in Hope.
Four of the thefts involve merchandise taken from businesses in the Hope area, while the four burglaries all took place at storage units located along South Street that were all hit in one night, Hope Town Marshal Matt Tallent said.
The only storage facility matching that location is Whitt’s Self Storage, at the junction of South and Market streets.
While Tallent said he prefers not to get into specifics regarding the investigation at this time, he told the Hope Town Council investigators have surveillance images that show a U-Haul rental truck backing up to the self-storage units, and the culprits using bolt-cutters to open up padlocks to gain entrance.
“We have good video of who broke in,” Tallent told the council. “The problem is getting them all identified at this point.”
All of the thefts occurred at businesses, rather than inside residences, the marshal said. Nevertheless, council members such as Clyde Compton expressed concern because the number of crimes was considerably higher than the town’s monthly average.
After Compton asked if a suspicious homeless man seen in the Hope area had been investigated, Tallent said that particular person has not been seen in the community lately.
