FARMINGTON – More than $500 was stolen from a downtown Farmington card store last week.

Police Officer Andrew Hufnagel said that $520 in cash and under $100 in six miscellaneous checks, which had already been endorsed, were sitting in a Peoples Heritage deposit bag behind the counter at Mickey’s Hallmark awaiting deposit at 10:30 a.m. last Wednesday.

When the store employee went to collect the bag to drop it off at the bank, she discovered it had been taken.

“It was a slow day and someone took advantage of that,” Hufnagel said, adding that the thief must have yanked the bag and run while the clerk attended to other matters and was not manning the counter directly.

So far, police have one suspect, who had not yet been interviewed. Hufnagel declined to give any more information about the individual but did say that if charged and convicted with the misdemeanor crime of theft, the perpetrator could face up to 364 days in jail.

The store is owned by Craig Jordan.

Hufnagel pointed out that the theft is a reminder that the holiday season is the height of the stealing season as registers are brimming with money as shoppers spend.

He urged both business and homeowners to take extra precautions.

Among the tips he recommended for businesses were to keep bells on entrances and exits to alert employees, to keep all cash locked up and to keep an employee always within eyesight of the register.

“Farmington is a small town and people think it can’t happen here,” he said of theft. “But unfortunately, it’s inevitable no matter where you go.”

Anyone with information about the theft at Mickey’s Hallmark is being urged to call the Police Department at 778-6311.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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