Washington Park concession stands, office burglarized

Washington police are investigating burglaries of concession stands at Washington Youth Baseball and TWIST softball fields, as well as a break-in of the office and concession stand at the pool late Sunday or early Monday.
Councilman Ken Westcott told the park maintenance worker about 10 p.m. Sunday he discovered a door was open at the Pony League concession stand. When the worker closed the door a short time later, he saw an older Chevrolet pickup truck, perhaps a 1980s model, leave Bronco Field and head toward the Pony field. City police Lt. Dan Stanek said it is not known if the truck was involved in the break-ins or just belonged to someone leaving the park.
The burglaries were discovered Monday morning at the TWIST concession stand, the stands at the Pinto, Mustang, Bronco and Pony fields, and at the pool. A cash box taken from the Pony field stand was found Monday morning near the train trestle.
The TWIST stand was entered after the burglar opened the main window. Stolen from the stand were $30, candy, cups, soft drinks, sports drinks and hot dogs. The value of the stolen items is estimated at $500.
The rear door that faces the road at Pony field was pried open. Marks were left on the door frame, police said. Stolen from the stand were about $10, candy, chips, sunflower seeds, hot dogs and soft pretzels. The value of the stolen items was estimated at $200 to $225.
The main doors were pried open at both the Mustang and Bronco stands, while a side door was forced open at the Pinto field. About $60 was stolen from the Mustang stand, while $10 was stolen from the other two stands. Also stolen was more than $100 in food and candy from each of the stands.
The pool office was broken into, but nothing appeared to have been stolen. Police said a small window was broken on the side of the concession stand, but they believe entry was made through a door, even though there was no sign of forced entry. Foods such as french fries, pretzels and hot dogs, candy and chips, with a total value of $200, were stolen from the stand.
Given the quantity of items stolen, Stanek said the thief or thieves would have needed a truck or a large vehicle to haul it away.
“Six to eight cases of pop fills up a car pretty quickly,” Stanek said.
The stand at the Bronco field was targeted by burglars in May and again June 8.
Stanek asked that anyone with information call police at 724-223-5226.