Burglars Strike Mercer Island Printing

Mercer Island Police say they're still investigating a smash-and-grab raid of Mercer Island Printing that was reported last Thursday morning, Jan. 24.

Police say an employee arrived to open the business at around 8 a.m. and found the print shop's cash register had been opened and $41 in cash that was left inside was missing. Three laptop computers were also stolen.

Burglars smashed through a two-foot square window at the rear of the office to gain entry sometime after 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23 after the business closed for the day.

Makena Partners, a second business run out of a back office at the Mercer Island Printing location, also reported losses in the burglary. Total loses were estimated at $2,041.

Police later determined the register was not locked.

MIPD Commander Leslie Burns said the burglary was unrelated to a recent spate of residential burglaries.

"It’s been quite a while since we had a commercial buglary like this," she said. "We don’t think there’s a serial burglar going around targetting businesses. I can be fairly confident that this isn’t connected to those (recent residential burglaries)."

Over the past year, several businesses have experienced losses related to theft, such as a wave of shoplifting incidents relating to liquor sales, but burglaries have been rare.