Published December 7, 2018
MELROSE — On the same day the city rang in the holidays with its annual seasonal extravaganza, Grinches were found to have smashed their way into downtown merchant Madison Ave, taking designer handbags valued at over $16,000.
Police continue to investigate this so-called “smash and grab” robbery as well as window damage to other businesses and Melrose High reported Friday, November 30.
At approximately 3:45 a.m., police responded to Madison Ave of Melrose, 523 Main St., on a report that one of the storefront windows had been smashed and items were missing from the consignment boutique. A passerby noticed the damage, and the owner of the business arrived on the scene shortly after police did.
Surveillance images from the store show two people outside the building at 2:47 a.m. Both suspects are seen wearing dark jackets and gloves and one person has a black hood over their head. The other appears to be a white male wearing a dark baseball hat.
A STILL IMAGE from surveillance at Madison Ave. shows two people in the store, one who can be seen in the front window with a bag. (Courtesy Photo)
At 2:52 a.m., the camera shows the same two people leaving the store, heading south on Main Street toward Malden.
The owner of Madison Ave reported that approximately 15 Louis Vuitton bags were taken from the store, totaling $16,100.
As businesses began opening for the morning, police received several reports that their windows had been broken: Liberty Bell, 886 Main St.; Honey Dew Donuts, 888 Main St., and Perella Jewelers, 136 West Emerson St. Nothing was stolen from the businesses.
Melrose High School, 360 Lynn Fells Parkway, also reported a window had been smashed in the rear of the building.
Melrose Police are actively investigating the break-in at Madison Ave and attempted break-ins at the other downtown businesses and high school.
Anyone who may have seen something is asked to contact the Melrose Police Department at 781-665-1212.
Madison Ave, a staple of the downtown, was boarded up during the opening festivities of this year’s Home for the Holidays event.
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In addition to the broken first floor window discovered November 30 at the high school, police said they found a BB hole in a different window at they investigated the first incident around 3:05 p.m.
This, police said, appears to be something completely different.
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On Saturday, December 1, a woman walking a couple of dogs in the Auburn Street neighborhood reported being yelled at by someone in a motor vehicle.
She told police of the incident around 4:35 p.m. It had happened a couple hours earlier.
The passenger who did the yelling, which included obscenities, was white with short hair and bad skin.
