Ottawa business faces spree of break-ins; police identify suspect

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Carlington restaurants broken into 5 times in 7 days

Break-in at Ottawa restaurant caught on camera

Break-ins have become a regular occurrence at Spicy Man and Takumi BBQ in Ottawa’s Carlington neighbourhood.

The owner says thieves have broken into her businesses five times over just seven days.

“I can’t sleep so, sometimes I can’t focus myself,” said Amanda, owner of the two establishments located in the same building.

“It makes me really worried and I just can’t focus on doing things. It’s very hard for me.”

CTV News Ottawa has agreed not to share the owner’s identity out of fear for her safety.

She says thieves broke into her business on Feb. 3 and then again on Feb. 6, 7, 8 and 10.

In the first robbery on Feb. 3, someone stole the cash drawer from Spicy Man, the restaurant located upstairs.

Staff no longer leave any money inside the establishments, but in one of the break-ins, a thief broke into the cash register.

On another occasion, security camera footage shows another person walking through the business with a white bag full of items from the restaurant.

In one case, someone broke off the front door handle leading to the upstairs restaurant after staff chained the door shut in an attempt to keep thieves out.

“I’m in a dangerous situation because they must have really sharp tools. I won’t call it a weapon, but it could be something really dangerous to all people and the staff,” Amanda said.

“I am worried about my employees and the staff. Some people come early, some people work late so, what if [thieves] come by and go into the store? They aren’t afraid of anything. [What if they use] a knife or something and threaten my staff? It could happen because minor things happen first and they may go bigger.”

Amanda says she has sent all of her security camera footage to the Ottawa Police Service and has reported each incident.

“I call the police every day and then I don’t even know. Should I call or not? Every time I give them evidence from the photo and the videos, but I am still waiting,” she said.

“I really don’t know what we should do because we are already trying our best. We have the cameras, we have the locks.”

The Ottawa Police Service said it was not available for an interview Tuesday, but in a statement to CTV News Ottawa, a spokesperson says they are still looking into the situation.

“The investigation into these incidents remains active and ongoing by the Break and Enter Unit,” read the statement.

“We recognize that repeated break-ins can be incredibly frustrating for businesses, and while investigations of this nature take time, officers continue to follow all available leads.”

On Wednesday, police issued a request for public assistance identifying one, or possibly two suspects.

“These were occurring during the very early hours of the morning, approximately 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. Please note the yellow nail polish in one of the photos,” police said.

Later in the afternoon, police said the suspect had been identified. No charges have been announced.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Ottawa Police Break and Enter Unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 4533.

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