MAPLE VALLEY, Wash. — UPDATE 5/19 11:02 a.m.: The owners of Foley's Produce said in a Facebook post that police located the box truck at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and a suspect is in custody.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A small business in Maple Valley says it’s being targeted by burglars.
Foley's Produce was hit again Friday night and the owners say what's happening is making it increasingly tough to do business. The owners say it’s the fifth break-in since they opened for the season on April 6, but this latest incident is by far the worst.
Thieves managed to get into their locked storage units where their registers and tools are stored and even stole one of their box trucks.
“Last night we were hit pretty bad. This morning right away I noticed the doors on my storage containers were wide open,” said Sean Foley, who owns Foley’s Produce with his wife Sarah.
Foley says burglars stole between $7,000-$10,000 worth of stuff. Whoever broke in took tools like welding materials, an air compressor, and more.
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“Most my tools were stolen last night,” Foley said.
Plus he said the thieves stole the dried goods also stored in the units, taking snacks like beef jerky and local honey.
It means Saturday, some of their shelves are empty.
Foley said in some of the other break-ins, only food was stolen. But this time in addition to the tools, burglars also stole the businesses' small box struck - a 1997 model.
The owners didn't have a photo but shared a photo of the Isuzu truck.
Burglars stole up to $10k worth of stuff from Foley’s Produce in Maple Valley last night - including a box truck like this one.
— Deedee Sun (@DeedeeKIRO7) May 19, 2019
Owners tell me it’s the FIFTH break-in since they opened for the year in April! But this one is by far the worst. 😡😢
More info on 630 @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/HoqOxu6bKS
“I pour my heart into this business day in and day out, it's a tremendous amount of work. To come in and find that all my hard work has been stomped on - it really makes my heart sink, it really hits home for me,” Foley said.
Customers and other businesses in the area who've heard what happened came by Saturday by to show their support.
“Shocking,” said Katie Korpi, who lives nearby the stand in Maple Valley. “It feels like theft has kind of picked up - whether it's vehicles or businesses or things like that. It's unfortunate,” she said.
Foley says they just got a new security system in Friday, but hadn't had a chance to install it yet. That night, the thieves hit their business.
They're working on getting it installed now and say they hope it'll help put a stop to the constant crime.
“I would really just like to be left alone and be allowed to conduct my business in peace,” Foley said.
The owners say there is a large transient population in the nearby woods and say they can't help but believe what's happening is connected.
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