Thurston deputies investigating another south county burglary
Deputies are investigating a burglary that occurred at a Rochester grocery store Thursday morning.
The incident occurred at about 4 a.m. at Country Corner Market, located at 9447 U.S. Highway 12, east of Rochester Middle School, according to a statement from Sheriff’s Lt. Cameron Simper.
Suspects allegedly broke the glass front door and stole a crash drawer from a register, according to the statement. Deputies reportedly responded within minutes, but the suspects had already left the scene by the time they arrived.
No further details were provided.
This incident follows a string of burglaries in southwest Thurston County that have mostly hit local businesses. Simper previously said detectives have reason to believe the prior incidents are connected based on their methodology and proximity.
“We are investigating this incident to determine if it is related to other commercial burglaries in the area over the past week,” Simper said Thursday.
An ATM machine was taken from South County Licensing off Old Highway 99 in Grand Mound on Tuesday, The Olympian previously reported. Deputies found the front glass door had been broken.
A similar burglary occurred at Heritage Meats off US-12 in Rochester, Simper said. In that incident, he said a suspect allegedly broke a window, stole the cash register and then stole a truck from the business.
That suspect allegedly drove the truck into Marijuana Mart in Grand Mound and tried to steal an ATM there, Simper said. However, the truck got stuck and the suspect fled the scene.
Another burglary happened at another cannabis dispensary, 420 Grand Central, on Old Highway 99, he said. Similarly, he said the suspect used a stolen truck to drive into the store and steal an ATM.
Anyone with information about the burglaries can contact the Sheriff’s Office non-emergency dispatch line at 360-704-2740, or email detectives@co.thurston.wa.us.
