East Washingtonian - Your Hometown News Source

POMEROY–An attempted burglary occurred at The Pirate Pit Stop and Café, formerly known as Pomeroy PDQ, on July 15 at approximately 3 a.m.

Allegedly, early Wednesday morning, a young male was observed by an employee who was working in the store, attach a chain which was connected to his white Nissan vehicle to the store’s front doors. He tried to force the doors open by using his vehicle to drag them out of the frame. The alleged perpetrator was unsuccessful completely removing the doors because the doors were chained together. However, in the effort, both doors were severely damaged. According to an employee who was in the store at that time watching this event take place, the alleged burglar saw her and quickly jumped back into his vehicle and left the scene.

The Pirate Pit Stop and Café’s new owner Leslie Schmidt, presumes the alleged burglar attempted to steal the ATM machine, just inside the store’s front doors. It is a privately-owned ATM, and didn’t have a large amount of money in it. According to Schmidt, attempts such as this have become common, where the burglar rips off the front doors by chaining them to their vehicle, and then attaches the chain to the ATM machine and drags it off to another location where they can break into it to retrieve the money inside.

The Pirate Pit Stop and Café employee was able to give a description of the activity and person allegedly involved. More details are available from a Security camera video showing the entire incident.

The Garfield County Sheriff’s office is investigating the incident. Schmidt called Clarkston Glass Co. and a technician came to Pomeroy to secure the doors until they can be replaced. The ATM machine will be moved to a more secure location, and no longer be as visible, nor accessible.