Suspects sought after two hardware store break-ins

Essex County OPP are investigating two overnight break-ins at hardware stores.

On Dec. 6 at 2:12 a.m., members of the Kingsville OPP detachment responded to a report of a break-in at a business in the 1500 block of County Road 34 in the Town of Kingsville.

A white Mercedes Sprinter van was seen leaving the scene.

Police say they determined that two individuals forced entry into the business and left with unknown items at this time.

At 2:32 a.m., an Essex OPP officer on patrol saw a break-in in progress to a business in the 300 block of Maidstone Avenue West. A white sprinter style van left the scene and failed to stop for police.

“I received a phone call at 3 a.m. with my brother telling me that we got broken into, and my first reaction is, I'll be there right away. And so I got into my truck and came, and the police were here already. And it turns out the police were actually here even before our surveillance even went off,” said Kimberley Seguin from Home Hardware.

Then she heard another hardware store was also broken into.

“And then it turned out that they knew maybe hardware stores were being targeted. So they were making their ways to the businesses, and they seen the white van. So they actually followed them. But they, knew that this was not going to go anywhere in terms of the pursuit,” she said.

Police say two males forced entry into the business, they were dressed in black, wearing gloves with their faces covered made entry into the store. Investigators suspect a third individual remained in the vehicle.

Investigators believe the same individuals are responsible for both break and enters.

The investigation is continuing.

If you have information that could assist with the investigation, the OPP can be reached anywhere at anytime in the Province of Ontario at 1-888-310-1122.

If you wish to remain anonymous you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) where you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2000.

~With files from CTV's Travis Fortnum.