Working at Green Eggs and Ram, Matt DeBoer is used to helping customers with viruses in their computers. He's not used to viruses invading where he works.
"Nothing was really busted up that much, just the window," Green Eggs And Ram employee Matt DeBoer said.
Owners of the business on East 8th Street came in around 8:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve to find a broken glass door and an empty space where a $130, 19" HP monitor once sat. Two large rocks used to smash the door open were not the only souvenirs left behind.
"I think they were trying to break down the camera so they wouldn't be seen, but they ended up getting caught," Deboer said.In an attempt to break outdoor security cameras, one camera captured a close-up of a suspect's eyes.
Across town on 41st Street, another computer store break-in happened around 9 p.m. the same night.
"This rock was about right here. It had come in quite a ways. He must've thrown it with pretty good force. It looked like the glass was 3/8 of an inch thick," Mac Pros owner Guy Rensch said.
Three display iPads were stolen, totalling about $1,500.
"Christmas Eve I got a big lump of coal from Santa," Rensch said.
Rensch has a surprise for whomever broke into his store. Beyond security footage, these iPads had identifiers engraved on them, and something more.
"Apple mobile products have tracking technologies built into them," Rensch said.
These Christmas Eve burglaries also come after a third store, MacDoctors on Russell Street, was broken into twice the week before.
A MacDoctors rep says glass doors were smashed on December 20 and an $800 laptop was stolen. On December 23, beefed up security prevented a second theft.
Both DeBoer and Rensch are not positive the crimes are related, but the characteristics seem pretty similar.
"Some guy who likes digital products is out there making his rounds," Rensch said.
Anyone with information on any of the burglaries and thefts should call Crime Stoppers at 367-7007.
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