REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio -- Police in one Central Ohio community have issued a warning to area business owners after two businesses were robbed by a man claiming to be and disguising himself as a state official.
Last Thursday was just like any other day at Putters Pub at 6014 E. Livingston Ave.
Around 3:30 p.m., police said an inspector with the state fire marshal's office walked in the front door -- at least that's who the man said he was.
“He walks in, looking official because he's got a fire-department-type logo on his blue polo shirt, ball cap,” Reynoldsburg Police Lt. Scott McKinley said. “He's carrying a metal clipboard, which typically fire officials carry to keep their paperwork in, and basically says he's there to do an inspection of the fire extinguishers.”
Looks can be deceiving, though, and McKinley said the man wasn’t an inspector after all.
The owner of Putters Pub told NBC 4 the man grabbed a fire extinguisher off a wall and took it into a back room.
She said surveillance video shows him pretending to look at the extinguisher while glancing over at a safe. Once he realizes the safe is open, he reaches inside, grabs $255 in cash, says everything is OK and takes off.
O’toole's Irish Pub at 7578 E. Main St. also was hit around the same time. There the suspect stole more than $1,000 in payroll checks out of a back office.
“He was only in each location for 10 to 15 minutes,” McKinley said. “He wasn’t there for very long. So, obviously, he had his plan to get in there and see what was available he could take."
Reynoldsburg police issued a business crime alert and warned 12 area taverns to be on the lookout.
The suspect is described as a white male who is 5 feet 9 inches tall. He weighs about 160 pounds and was unshaven.
Businesses owners were encouraged to be cautious in the meantime.
“A legitimate person is going to have no problem showing you their identification and even having you check up with the home agency,” McKinley said.
For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
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