ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Law enforcement across Central Florida is keeping an eye on Staples stores in their areas after two stores were robbed early Tuesday morning.
The robberies happened about two hours apart, with one store in Orlando and the other in Orange County. The burglars were only able to get inside one of the stores and investigators have not said if anything was taken.
The security alarm sounded at 2:10am Tuesday at the Staples on John Young Parkway near Sand Lake Road. Orange County deputies said a group of men broke in and ransacked the store and targeted high-priced computers.
"There was some merchandise moved around the flat screen monitor section. At this point we don't have any idea what was taken," said Lt. Mike Gibson of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Somehow they were able to pry open the sliding doors. A brazen crime to say the least, but detectives believe the thieves were brazen enough to attempt to pull the same crime twice in one night.
About two hours earlier and 12 miles away, the Staples on East Colonial Drive, across from Orlando Fashion Square, was targeted.
Detectives said the thieves managed to pry open the front sliding doors, but this time they could not get through the security bars. Cops say the crooks tried using a car to rip the bars off the store front, but it did not work.
"There's no way to know if they were related or not, or [if] the same it was suspects or not. But we do have two Staples burglaries in a matter of two hours," said Lt. Gibson.
The manager of the Staples store on East Colonial told WFTV the store's entrance was brand new. He said he had the sliding doors installed a few weeks ago.
Four Staples stores in Central Florida have been targeted since mid-October, including one on Narcoossee Road, and another in Clermont.
WFTV
