Burglar hits Raging Axes, Town and Country Power in Mt. Vernon

Thief makes off with almost $36,000 in cash and merchandise, leaves behind stolen wallet from Texas
 
A burglar cut a hole into the wall of a Mt. Vernon business on the Loop to steal thousands of dollars worth of equipment and also lifted a cash drawer from an adjoining business in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Aug. 29. According to a police report filed in response to the incident, the Town and County Power Center had $34,814.80 in cash and merchandise stolen, including several chainsaws, trimmers and other items, while a money drawer containing $1,000 was stolen from Raging Axes next door.

Hole cut in wall of Power Center
The break-in was originally reported by Alvie Fletcher, who told the reporting detective that he arrived that morning to find the overhead door behind the building partially open and saw what appeared to be scattered boxes inside the storage room. Fletcher told the officer he then went to the front of the building and saw what appeared to be several boxes scattered throughout the store.
After searching the building to make sure no suspects were inside, the detective also searched Raging Axes next door. In his report, the detective said the storage room that the suspect appeared to have entered through is connected to Raging Axes, with a door leading to the business. The detective said the door leading to Raging Axes was unsecured, and there was a hole through a wall in the storage room leading into the Power Center.

Evidence found includes wallet belonging to Texas man
After making certain the buildings were secure, the detective photographed the scene and searched for evidence. He found an axe on the ground of the storage room, near the hole in the wall. He was later informed that a black and brown folding Husky knife was found in the storage room under the empty boxes. Also found was a wallet belonging to a man from Texas. The detective contacted the owner of the wallet, who said he was in Texas and had never been to Missouri. The man also said he had reported his wallet as being stolen to his bank a couple of hours earlier.
Brenda Foglesong, owner of Town and Country, arrived at the store provided the detective with a video of the suspect that she had on her phone. The video showed the suspect going around the store using a flashlight and going behind the counter and office areas.
Foglesong contacted Jeremy Walker, owner of Raging Axes, and informed him of the break-in. He said he was on his way in, but asked Foglesong to check the cash drawer under the counter of the store; Foglesong did so and discovered the drawer was missing.

Similar burglary in Monett
The next day, Monett Police contacted the detective and informed him that the Coast-to-Coast in Monett had been broken into the same way, with a hole cut in the wall. The store did not have cameras inside the building, but a surveillance camera outside caught the image of a suspect vehicle, a silver Nissan Altima. The car’s license plate could not be seen on the video.
The suspect is described as a black man approximately five-feet, nine-inches to six feet in height with a thin build, wearing a grey hoodie, dark shorts and white shoes. Anyone with any information regarding the theft is asked to call Detective David Young at the Mt. Vernon Police Department at (417) 253-4241, Ext. 2.