Justice police officers responding to a burglar alarm at 5:50 a.m. June 5 found a broken glass door and extensive damage inside Bonnie’s Dining & Banquets, 8442 Archer Ave.
While police were at the scene, a white van arrived. The driver told officers he had witnessed a red Dodge Challenger pull into the parking lot minutes earlier. Four men left the car, he said, and used a sledgehammer to break the glass door.
The witness said he was too frightened to intervene or call 911. Instead, he drove around the block and then saw the Dodge leave heading north on Archer Avenue.
Surveillance video confirmed the account. Three men entered the business and used the sledgehammer to smash four gaming machines. They removed cash boxes from two of the machines they damaged. Police did not report how much was stolen.
They needed just two minutes and 50 seconds to break in, smash the machines and flee the scene.
Police report information is provided by law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken. Persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law.