Photo from The Green Line Cafe Facebook page.

Storefront windows of several West Philly businesses were smashed overnight and some businesses were burglarized, prompting a burglary report from the 18th Police District (see below).

The Green Line Cafe posted the following message on their Facebook page this morning:

“Not what we wanted to wake up to at Locust Street this morning… No one was hurt. We’ll be opening late today, though.”  Continue Reading

Police are looking for three male suspects in connection with a burglary at Aksum restaurant at 4630 Baltimore Ave. that happened in the early morning hours on Sunday, Aug. 12. One suspect entered the restaurant after breaking the front window with an object. He took cash and several electronic devices from the restaurant and passed them on to the other men who were waiting outside, according to police.

Police released surveillance video of the burglary where the suspects can be seen outside and inside the restaurant during the burglary (see below).  Continue Reading

Police are asking for the public’s assistance to identify two male suspects sought for a series of commercial burglaries on Chester Avenue near 49th Street.

The burglaries took place on April 18 at approximately 4 a.m. when the suspects broke into The Church of God in the World at 4817 Chester Ave. through the rear door and then broke into Unwired Solutions cell phone store at 4821 Chester Avenue through a connecting wall, according to police. After taking several phones from the cell phone store, the suspects broke through another wall to gain access to Jennifer’s Groceries located at 4823 Chester Avenue, according to a police report. Once inside the grocery store the suspects took an unknown amount of cash and lottery tickets and then fled in an unknown direction.  Continue Reading

Penn Café, located on the 4900 block of Catharine Street in Cedar Park, was burglarized on early Tuesday morning, at approximately 3:40 a.m., according to police. A neighbor, who lives on the second floor of the building, woke up from a loud banging sound coming from the cafe on the first floor. The neighbor went downstairs and saw an unknown male inside the cafe who immediately fled through the rear door, according to police.

The suspect got away with $160 from the cash register. The ATM was also damaged. Police say the suspect got into the cafe by forced opening the rear door.

Police couldn’t retrieve any surveillance video; the business has cameras, but they were not turned on that night.

Pasqually’s, the pizza and beer spot on 43rd Street near Walnut, was burglarized early Sunday morning.

Police responded to a burglary alarm at the restaurant at 4:20 a.m. and found signs of forced entry and a crow bar on the counter. Cash, cigarettes and lottery tickets were taken, according to police.

Police say their was no surveillance video at the rear of the building where the break-in occurred and that inside cameras were turned off.

West Philly Runners, who frequently end their neighborhood runs at Pasqually’s, are holding a fundraiser to help recoup some of the money lost in the burglary. They are hosting what they are calling the “pizza mile” after their weekly Wednesday run. Eat a slice, run around the block and repeat. The pizza run starts at 7 p.m. at Pasqually’s.

“The pizza mile is a fun attraction, but the main goal is to get people from the community out to support by being there to buy beer and food,” said Alon Abramson of West Philly Runners.

More info is available on the event’s Facebook page.

• Police have released images and surveillance video of a man who they believe robbed two Rite Aid stores in West Philadelphia and are asking for the public’s assistance to identify and locate him. Police say that the man is involved in three robberies at Rite Aid stores located at 5214 Baltimore Ave. and 5699 Chestnut St. that took place between Aug. 20 and Aug. 24. Each robbery had a similar pattern – the man entered the store, picked up some items and brought them to the register. Then he announced a robbery while simulating a weapon in his sweatshirt pocket. The man has already stolen nearly $1,000 from the stores, according to police.  Continue Reading