Crooks cut their way into Zimmerman hardware store

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: May 13, 2008 - 3:13 PM

Crooks used an unusual method to break into a Zimmerman hardware store sometime Sunday night. They used a hand tool to cut a hole in a sheet metal wall to get inside.

Once there, they busted open a safe and made off with cash and personal check that customers had written over the weekend.

Their misdeed was undetected because the robbers cut the alarm system and telephone lines inside the store. But a surveillance camera inside the Johnson's Hardware Hank at 12860 Fremont Ave. did capture some of the action and authorities hope the tape will help them identify how many suspects there and who they might be.

"This is unusual," said Sgt. Don Starry, with the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office. "We've heard of thieves going through rooftops or in strip malls going through the sheet rock from business to business, but I don't recall anything like this."

Police and the store's owner are warning customers who wrote checks at the store to be on alert for identity theft since some personal information is on their missing checks.