The Hillcrest Taphouse in the City of Antioch was burglarized early Wednesday morning and say an Antioch Police response took nearly 4 hours to respond.
Hillcrest Taphouse is not the only business to have been targeted by criminals, so far in 2023, Antioch Police have reported in their crime logs at 49 reported burglaries as of February 11. (Known burglaries only). In fact, the same vehicle is believed to have hit Cocina Medina the same morning.
Antioch Police staffing levels have been crushed in the past year going from a fully staffed 115 officers under Chief Tammany Brooks to 76 officers in October. In February, the department is at 73 active officers and the city has increased its hiring incentives for officers who join the Antioch Police Department.
The Hillcrest Taphouse took to social media sharing their experience along with a nearly 4-hour police response
Dwayne Gilliland, of the Hillcrest Taphouse, stated a total of five windows were broken and a door was damaged as a suspect made entry to the business at approximately 6:30 am.
“They tried the front door first. Then tried another door, attempted to break another window before a rock went through another window,” explained Gilliland. “I estimated about $1,000 in cash, another $2k in merchandise from around the restaurant, and $7k in damages.”
Gilliland explained he received a call from the alarm company after an attempted break-in from the front door when he observed a rock break the window and a male made entry. He told the alarm company to call the police as someone was inside.
“I watched for 10-12 minutes a man walking around the restaurant going through every cupboard, taking items, a computer, money out of drawers and left with two bags of stuff where he loaded it up in to a vehicle. The police never showed up,” said Gilliland.
After watching for 10-minutes, he said he then called Antioch Police dispatch who told him they had no officers available to respond, even though it was an active burglary.
“They said sorry, they would be there as soon as they could and said it was a non-emergency,” explained Gilliland who stated they finally showed up around 11:00 am.
The restaurant has since cleaned up the broken glass and windows have been covered, however, they are limited to only half the restraint being able to seat patrons.
“We can’t close, we have struggled to stay open. We can’t afford to close down so I put a board up in the window and we are open. We should get a new window in a few days,” said Gilliland.
He further explained that for as much as they try and support the city, was a chamber member, that they can’t get someone to come out unless there is an emergency.
“The guy was walking around with the alarm going off for 10-minutes and no one showed up. Its crazy,” says Gilliland. “Businesses should be a higher priority to police response because we support the community. You are basically telling us we don’t matter. Its hard to want to do business in the town when we don’t get the support.”
He pointed out he understood low staffing levels and if something else was going on, but to not show up during an active burglary on camera is “hard to swallow”.
“I was at Walmart the other day and a guy walks out with a TV, its complete lawlessness. It happens all the time of people grabbing stuff and walking out,” said Gilliland. “The community deserves better, the community has reached out to me today with a lot of sympathy. We are here for the city and its hard to do this stuff when they catch guys red handed, either don’t arrest them because they know its not going to be prosecuted, or they don’t even show up. Its hard to swallow. This is on the city for allowing lawlessness to happen. You dot everything you are supposed to do, the city doesn’t have my back.”
Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock is aware that many businesses are experiencing the same situations and encourages them to participate in the business watch program.
“We have began the business watch program again which meets once a month at the Antioch Polie Department,” said Ogorchock. “Its supported by the Antioch Police Department and Chief Ford.
The Antioch Police will host a community forum on Thursday, February 16 at 6:00 pm at Delta Bowl located at 3300 Delta Fair Boulevard. Members of the police department, to include Chief Steven Ford, will be there for you to meet and ask questions.
Antioch Police Department has released no information on the incident.
9 comments
Comments are closed.
Add Comment