Thieves broke into the Dollar General store on Palm Coast Parkway overnight Thursday by carving a hole through the wall. They ransacked the store, stole $4,700 from the safe and some fireworks and got away.
A 53-year-old employee arrived at the store this morning (July 5) at 6:50 a.m. to get it ready to open. She immediately noticed the safe broken into and the hole that had been carved open through the wall, from outside, on the east side of the stand-alone 12,000 square-foot building at 500 Palm Coast Parkway.
The employee then left the store and kept additional employees from going in, pending the arrival of Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies. She calculated that the $4,700 in cash was stolen from the safe along with some fireworks with an estimated value of $60.
The hole was carved through about chest-high, just large enough for a person of adult size to fit through, emerging inside the store against an area of shelving that appeared cleared out by the intruders. The exterior wall, according to Flagler County Property Appraiser records, is made of stucco and so-called STL panels, a form of sound-absorbing or “sound-transmission loss” panels. The safe, behind the counter, was severed open and its contents of cash-register trays and documents spread on the floor, where thieves went through their loot.
The store alarm had been set at midnight and turned off by the employee when she arrived at 6:50 a.m. It never went off. The store has a security-camera system. That footage was being reviewed and was not immediately available for publication. But the Sheriff’s Office in late afternoon Thursday said the footage was proving unhelpful: it’s too dark, showing only the light beam from the thief’s flashlight.
Surrounding businesses did not have surveillance footage pointing toward the Dollar General store.
The same Dollar General was broken into in October 2013 when a burglar, captured on surveillance video, smashed in the front door to get in, then attacked the cigarette machine. The machine held firm against him, angering him as he tried various ways to break in. No safe was accessed during that break-in. Of the innumerable burglaries that take place every year, the closest similarity to this last burglary at Dollar general is the the May 2015 burglary at Larry’s Guns and Ammo in Bunnell, where thieves gained access to the store through a roof vent then dug through roof tiles and pried back an air-conditioning opening to jump into the building. Thieves stole five shotguns. The theft was never solved.
JustTheTruth says
County and City Officials can be partly to blame for retail robberies for not bringing industry in here so more people have work. There will always be some crime, but lack of work also brings crime.
woodchuck says
AS much as I like to blame county and city officials shouldn’t we blame the thieves?What makes you think that they want to work at all?
Barney says
If one has that much energy to do all of “that” they can surely go out and find some legitimate work.
Concerned Citizen says
County and City Officials are partly to blame for retail robberies? That’s rich LOL.
There will always be entitled ass-hats who don’t want to work and will steal from others. I don’t care if Flagler County has a 100 percent employment rate. People make 6 figure salaries and still embezzle and defraud their clients.
I’m curious about the alarm. It seems the thieves spent a good amount of time inside the store. If the alarm was set how did they manage to get so much stuff?
Also if the employee saw the hole from the outside of the building why enter at all? Seems to me best practice in an apparent robbery would be not to enter the building. The perps could have still been inside waiting.
gmath55 says
So, did the alarm go off or not?
FlaglerLive says
It did not.
atilla says
I see a lot of company trucks around town advertising that they’re looking for workers. You can’t blame the city or county for the work of one or more people who live off the government, steal, break in, and what ever is easier than work to support their habits. There is or use to be a hobo camp across the street from this store.
Freddy says
In today’s economy if you are out of work you;
a) Are not really looking for work.
b) Do not really want to work but instead collect welfare.
c) Have a criminal record and no one wants to hire you.
d) Or you are supporting a drug or alcohol habit.
Economy is good and I see ads for help wanted on Facebook, Craig’s list, and signs all over the place.
Roll on 2 says
Sounds like an inside job to me! There is likely an employee involved.
Dee says
I agree! Definitely sounds like an inside job. I worked at a dollar general and the lights are never turned completely off as it seems like they were at this location during the robbery.
Born and Raised Here says
What’s a Dollar Store doing with close to $5,000 in cash ? Didn’t somebody need to make a night deposit ?
Somethhing seems inaccurate here,
wow says
Those of you complaining about “lazy people” obviously haven’t tried to find a job recently. Very pat answer to a huge issue. Ignoring it and blaming “lazy people” is not helpful.
georgette m fisher says
Somebody is watching Aminal Kingdom….
Deana says
Yeah, this has to be an I side job… They close at 10pm should be out by 1015pm. And if the alarm was armed it would have went off.. For real a lizard walks in the front part of my store, my alarm is going off and they are calling me, and now for the safes who did they get into them? The deposit should have been in a time locked safe, not with the change fund, something don’t add up at all…
AJ Rinaldi says
I’m 66 years old and travel 32 miles to work. Oh sorry ,didn’t know the county and city was obligated to get people jobs. If you want a job, you’ll find one. Poor excuse for stealing.
More to the story says
Sounds like an inside job! Probably an old employee or current employee that knew the store, the safe, security setup.
mark101 says
The key here is ” The same Dollar General was broken into in October 2013 “, inside job it appears
35 year resident says
No one is to blame except for the thief/thieves. Why is it always someone else’s fault. Get real.
RP says
Searay folks getting desperate already ? No work for them.
Want to see a lot more of this take away their food stamps :) people get hungry they get desperate. Eliminate food stamps and watch america rip itself apart.
Born and Raised Here says
To many of these Dollar Stores will attract the wrong kind of people. We need to close down these stores.
BLAHBLAHBLAH says
I have an ad out to hire several good paying positions – do you know how many people literally tell me they’re just coming to satisfy their unemployment requirements. Why WOULD the lazy work when they can sit on their entitled a$$e$ and collect some sort of assistance. This is not to be blamed on anyone BUT the criminal – who likely has a job! or maybe doesn’t – regardless – it’s a crime of an individual. STOP BLAMING EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING BUT THE CRIMINAL.
Termite says
The economy is good? Yep that’s why Sea Ray is closing…people don’t have the money to spend on certain items so the people that make those items are no longer needed. Know what jobs are available? Low paying jobs with high turnover rates. When you add hundreds of thousands of jobs most people can do in their sleep of course the economy looks good. The problem isn’t jobs it’s quality jobs and yes, you do have to travel out of the area for some of those. I do and it pays dividends.
DG Shopper says
I shop at this store which is next to my work or the other one on old kings next to my house every day. The motion cameras are set off sometimes by a Helium balloon losing air so it drops below the ceiling cage made of mesh netting and drifts around. This was an inside job. no alarm that night. We use Alarm pro, and there is no way you could knock a hole with a sledge and gain entry and not immediately have the motion sensor tripped. Just glad nobody got hurt.
Zero Excuse says
True, there are few great paying jobs in Flagler. I drive to Jax every day for work & get paid a pretty penny to do so; however, servers at Hammock Beach make more than I do in tips every day. Blaming the government for crime is ridiculous. And saying that people are hungry is just laughable! You can go every 2 weeks to the bus depot off US 1 and get a trunk full of food. They only ask for a valid Flagler ID. That’s it! You have to prove nothing else. No one has an excuse for being hungry in Flagler. It’s literally the easiest place I have ever seen for people in need to get served and I’ve worked with social services in 3 states.
No alarm went off and the safe was easily pried open means this had to be an inside job. DG needs to up their security, especially since this isn’t the first time at this location.
Long Time Leo says
WHAT BUILDING INSPECTOR PASSED THAT PLACE WITH NO BLOCK WALLS JUST CHEAP ASS PARTICLE BOARD ?? TALK ABOUT A FIRE HAZARD 🤔💥💥💥🚒
Laurie says
I was taught at an early age, “right from wrong “, it’s very simple,,, Thou shalt not steal .
David S. says
My hound could have busted through there poor construction…