Thieves target Fort St. John pizza restaurant for fourth time, leave with cash and vacuum

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A local restaurant lost cash and a vacuum in a burglary this week, reportedly the fourth one in the last three to four years. 

Olio’s Pizzeria, located on 100th Avenue, was reportedly broken into on Sunday, March 22nd. 

Marilyn Mueller, the owner of Olio’s Pizzeria, told Energeticcity.ca that the cash register and a DeWalt vacuum were stolen. 

She said: “When we went in in the morning, it was missing and unfortunately, we didn’t set the alarm that night.” 

Since the property has CCTV cameras, Mueller was able to see what happened: two people in hoodies and with their face covered pulled up in a white pickup truck at 4.50 a.m. 

“They broke in [through] the back door in the alley and one of them went to the front and took the register and the other one went downstairs,” she added. “I believe they were looking for a safe or something, because they kept going into the weirdest places.” 

She said she is grateful there was no damage done to the store. 

“I’m just grateful they didn’t take a baseball bat and go around smashing and doing damage, because then it would put me out of business temporarily while I’m getting repairs done and that could bankrupt me,” Mueller said.

Mueller believes putting in different levels of security will now cost her “1000s of dollars.” 

She said: “I have to put louvered shutters over the doors now and lock it up like we’re in New York City or in the Bronx.” 

She believes the two perpetrators “knew what they were doing.” 

“They had the tools to get in, [it looked like] they’ve done this many times, whereas the other times they smashed a door with a brick and they just ran to the register and ran out, but this one was just a little bit different than usual,” she said. 

Mueller told Energeticcity.ca she did not report the incident to the police because she distrusts their capacity to conduct a full investigation.