Businesses in Columbus have struggled with repeated criminal activity

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Local businesses in a plaza in northeast Columbus are grappling with a series of break-ins that are frustrating owners and calling for an increased police presence.

Coriy Iumbngan, co-owner of Hibachi Express, described the recent incident in which a thief managed to squeeze through window bars that had been installed after previous break-ins.

“He bent that pole and squeezed in,” Iumbngan said. “I don’t know how he did it.”

Although the thief left the store without any cash, his phone was confiscated from the store.

Jeremy Elder, CEO of VGMX The Nerd Emporium, expressed similar frustration after rocks were thrown through the front door of his store.

“This shouldn’t be happening, but it’s happening here on this court,” Elder said. His surveillance cameras captured a suspect attempting to open the cash register, but luckily nothing was stolen.

Elder expressed concern about the lack of police patrols in the area after hours.

“You have to be proactive instead of just waiting,” he said, acknowledging that police may be overwhelmed.

Despite the challenges, Elder remains committed to the neighborhood where his business has been a fixture for 30 years.

“We have customers coming to us who shopped here with their children when they were kids, and we want to continue to do that,” he said.

For these small businesses, the financial burden of repairing damage is significant.

“We can’t give raises to our people because, as you know, we have to pay the cost of repairing the door,” Elder said.

“We’ll just leave this here until we have the money to fix it,” Iumbngan added.

Columbus police said they have no prior reports of incidents at these businesses.