Shopping center on Lee Drive has 6 break-ins in 2 weeks

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The Duplantier Place Shopping Center on Lee Drive has had six break-ins over a two-week period. The most recent was early Sunday morning.

“It’s over and over and over again in two weeks,” said David Rollins, the owner of BellyFire Studios.

Security footage provided by BellyFire Studios shows someone taking off with cash and reportedly leaving behind multiple broken doors in the shopping center. BellyFire was the most recent break-in.

“70% of my staff is female. I have women who are here late at night cleaning up after classes. I want a safe space for our customers, but of course, I want a safe place for the people who work here,” added Rollins.

Some shop owners say they are just angry while others said this experience has left them feeling vulnerable.

“It’s a very violating feeling,” said Amber Elworth, owner of Light House Coffee.

Light House Coffee was hit less than 24 hours earlier. We are told that BRPD was called after each crime.

The owner of BellyFire Studios says he feels let down.

“There’s no reason this should happen so many times. there should have been a cop here a week ago,” explained Rollins, “he’s saying please come arrest me please.”

Other shop owners share the same opinion.

“You would think after the second time that a cop would be out there, but there’s not one out here after the third time,” said Mya Tran, daughter of the owner of Tiger Tailoring. Her shop has not been broken into, but many of the businesses that have not been hit are taking their cash registers with them as a precaution.

“At this point, it’s like, what can I do to prevent it?” said Erica Durlacher, the owner of Custom Eyes Vision Center.

Some business owners say they are also planning to camp out in hopes it can either deter or catch whoever is terrorizing their stores.

BRPD says this is currently under investigation. If you know anything that can help investigators, you can reach out to Crime Stoppers at 344-STOP (7867).

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