Olivette Police Seek Suspect in Break-In at Smoke Land

After the third break-in in 22 days at an Olive Boulevard business early Tuesday morning, at least one other business owner has called Olivette police for advice about how to keep the thieves at bay.

At 12:38 a.m. Tuesday morning, at least one burglar smashed a front window at Smoke Land, 9495 Olive Blvd., and made off with the business' cash register, according to Olivette police Det. Craig Schneider.

Schneider said the owner of Arena Liquor, just west of Smoke Land, called on Tuesday afternoon to ask what he should be doing to protect his business. The Smoke Land break-in followed similar-styled break-ins at Subway on Jan. 8 and at Chevy's Fresh Mex restaurant on Dec. 24.

"If a bad guy wants in, he's getting in," Schneider said. "There's very little you can do."

Schneider said four separate police cars cruise the Olivette community overnight, so the police presence is there. Smoke Land had 11 video cameras set up to monitor the store, which sells a wide variety of tobacco- and alcohol-related products, including premium cigars, domestic and imported beers and wines.

In fact, Schneider said they are working with the video images to identify a suspect, who was wearing a hoodie and was seen carrying a cash register out of Smoke Land early Tuesday morning.

Schneider said he was comparing notes with neighboring communities such as Clayton to see if the suspect had been caught on other survellience video for a recent Subway break-in there. He said the suspect did not match one for a University City Subway break-in, also the night of Jan. 8. He was dubious that the Smoke Land break-in was related to the Olivette Subway break-in on Jan. 8 or the Chevy's break-in on Dec. 24 because the suspects did not actually enter those businesses.

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