PORTLAND, Ore. – Police arrested a man early Monday morning, after finding him in a coffee shop at a strip mall. It appears the man got into the strip mall from the roof, and first broke into a Verizon Wireless store.
East Precinct officers have seen a rash of cell phone store burglaries, so when a burglary alarm went off about 2 a.m., they rushed to the store at 9740A SE Washington Street, arriving within a minute of the alarm.
"The officers got here, heard some commotion up from the roof area, and called for more officers to come to the scene," said Sgt. Brian Hughes with Portland police. "A couple of K9 officers joined us and we basically surrounded the strip mall."
Firefighters set up a ladder to access the roof. Then police heard the suspect in Coffee's On Espresso Bar, and after threatening to send in a K-9, they arrested the man without incident.
The owner of the coffee shop said he hopes this incident will help the suspect turn his life around.
"I wish and hope that this is his last time doing something like this," said Cuong Ngo, who is also the pastor of a Vietnamese Christian church. "I think he will have a better future and I pray that he will live out his true person."
Detectives are investigating whether the suspect is connected to any other similar burglaries in the area.
Related:
