Hanover Police are trying to determine who broke into the Home Decor Shop and stole assorted jewelry items sometime between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. The store was in the last days of its going-out-of-business sale when the break-in occurred.
The Hanover Police discovered the break-in early Thursday morning, according to a police press release. The perpetrator used a large rock to smash the rear glass door to the store, and then broke into two display cases.
"They were in and out quickly ... they were definitely after jewelry," Police Detective Sergeant Frank Moran told the Valley News, although he would not estimate the stolen merchandise's value.
The break-in point is in view of the parking lot behind the Nugget Theater.
Moran told the Valley News the evidence at the shop indicated the burglar or burglars unsuccessfully attempted to enter through the front door located within the Nugget Arcade and later smashed the back door.
The police are currently looking for a male who presented himself as a jewelry customer at Home Decor earlier on Wednesday, according to the release.
The male, who identified himself as a construction worker from Connecticut, was described as a white male in his early 20s with short blond hair and slender-to-medium build. The police release included a composite sketch.
Moran did not say the male was a suspect in the case but told the Valley News, "We think there's reason to at least identify who this individual is."
Police are hoping to talk to people who left the Nugget after its last movie ended around midnight, according to the Valley News.
Yesterday Home Decor closed shop after 23 years in the community. The store remained open for business through the weekend conducting its going-out-of-business sale despite the burglary.
Lenny Wishnefsky, the owner of Home Decor, refused to comment on the burglary or its effect on the closing except to say the burglary "affects it psychologically."
Wishnefsky said he and his wife are retiring from the retail business. The store space will be available for rent by the landlord, he said.
"It's time for us to go onto something bigger and better," he said. "It's time to do something different."
This incident marks the second jewelry theft in the downtown Hanover area in the past three months. In late May, Ward Amidon Jewelers -- just two doors down from Home Decor -- was robbed at gunpoint by two unmasked men. The robbery is still unsolved.
