Thief leaves bloody trail at business

Sunday, October 15, 2006

GALESBURG - Police are searching for a man who stole $151 from Midwest Title Loans, 1640 N. Henderson St., sometime overnight Friday/Saturday. In this case, perhaps the cash can be called blood money.

A clerk a Ayerco, 1672 N. Henderson St., was told by a customer there was a broken window at the title loan company. Police arrived at 8:04 a.m. Saturday.

Two employees of Midwest Title Loans talked to police. One said she left at about 5 p.m. Friday, while the other employee left at about 6 p.m. The thief paid a price for breaking the center window on the north side of the building and entering. Police found a trail of blood inside and outside the building.

According to police reports, officers found a significant amount of dried blood at various places throughout the business. A 3 1/2-foot long ice scraper with a wooden handle was apparently used to break the window. There was a large amount of blood on the handle of the scraper, which was found leaning against the counter where the cash register was located.

The employees told police there was $161 in the register. The register was covered with blood. There were also blood spatters on walls, desks and chairs. The investigation is continuing.