HARTFORD, Conn. — Less than five days after the Angel of Edgewood non-profit was first burglarized, Hartford police are now investigating a second break-in.
The non-profit said that suspected criminals entered through a garbage chute last Wednesday and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of donations and supplies, like toys, clothes, TV and lawn equipment that is provided for people in need.
Jendayi Scott-Miller, the executive director of Angel of Edgewood, said she is devastated by the recent burglaries.
RELATED: 'The entire warehouse had been ransacked': Hartford non-profit burglarized
“I've been camping out here, staying the night, sleeping in my van, but last night was the first night that I went home, and that's when it happened. So obviously the person is monitoring our moves and things like that and it's just you know, it's just really frustrating,” Scott-Miller said.
The suspects broke through the door of the warehouse.
“I got ready to come in and I put my key in the door and I couldn't open the door,” Scott-Miller continued, ”and when we couldn't open it, we ended up calling 911 and HPD came and with a few tugs they were able to get it, but we found out that the inside of the door had been damaged and pried open with a crowbar.”
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The break-ins are a major setback for the nonprofit, both physically and financially.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to go through these extremes to monitor our property,” said Scott-Miller.
Scott-Miller said that during the initial burglary, the suspects had stolen donations and even cut copper piping from the celling of the building. The price tag of these recent break-ins is mounting.
“We've estimated $50,000 in damages, and that's not including copper piping, you know, those were just items that were taken,” said Scott-Miller.
Volunteers and community partners have been hard at work to clean up the property to eliminate hiding spots for suspected criminals. The non-profit has been trying to step up security measures but even that has been a challenge.
“We've been struggling for a couple of months, trying to get the dentist's office in the front, who owns the front side of the building, to sign the waivers for Comcast to just go behind the building and just tack a wire to run our services back here," Scott-Miller said. "[There is] nothing that they need to do, and we've been given the runaround, we've sent waivers and so many different things.”
Scott-Miller hopes the two businesses can come together so Angel of Edgewood can continue to serve the community that they love.
“I worked really hard to get this building in for the community. And I'm going to protect it just as hard as I work to obtain it,” said Scott-Miller.
Hartford police said they were able to collect evidence at the scene and that their Major Crimes Burglary division is actively investigating both break-ins.
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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