The Heist, a bar and food cart pod in the Woodstock neighborhood, has been hit several times in the last couple of weeks. Managers believe the same man is behind it.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Several businesses in Portland’s Woodstock neighborhood, including a food cart pod, say they are working together to build a case against a man they believe has burglarized them multiple times over the past month — in some cases using a blowtorch to break in.
The Heist, a bar and cafe at the center of a 21-cart food pod, has been among the hardest hit.
“He uses a lot of like pry bars, blowtorch,” said Emily Hargadine, a manager at The Heist. “He is taking any cash that’s on site, which usually is very minimal. I’ve seen reports of him taking the POS, the point of sales equipment as well, which makes it so hard to recover from the damages because you can’t sell anything.”
Hargadine said several carts at the pod were targeted, including two taco restaurants and a Cajun cart. Hannah Nellen, who works at Beirut Shawarma, one of the affected carts, said the suspect took roughly $100 from the register and an unusual item.
“I mean, from us, I believe he only took about like 100 from the register and like Nutella for some reason,” Nellen said.
Surveillance footage from The Heist and other nearby businesses appears to show the same individual in each incident. Hargadine said the businesses have filed police reports and are sharing footage to strengthen any future prosecution.
“So we’re trying to create the biggest case against him so that when he does get caught — inevitably, I mean, he can’t keep doing this and not get caught — we are able to come at him with as much force as possible, legally speaking,” she said.
Hargadine says they’re working with Portland Police, and have filed reports. At this point, PPB says it’s too early to say if any of these break-ins are connected.
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