Carson businesses broken into -- but how?

Two Carson City business were broken into sometime Wednesday night or Thursday morning, and investigators are still trying to determine how.

"There's no sign of forced entry on the exterior of the building, so we're not sure how they got inside," said Carson City Sheriff's Department Detective Richard Mendoza. "They possibly were even inside when they locked up last night."

The businesses, Resident Agents of Nevada Inc. and The Law Offices of Laub & Laub, are at 711 S. Carson St. , just south of City Cafe and Bakery.

The businesses share a hallway from which both their doors were kicked in. There is no sign of how the burglars got into that hallway, however.

Diane Kalinowski of Resident Agents was the first to arrive Thursday morning.

"The whole building was locked up tighter than a drum," she said. When she got inside the office, she said, she saw the door from the hallway was kicked in. Because her boss had kicked the door in a few weeks ago when he was locked in the hallway, she figured someone had been locked out. Then she saw the glass door to Laub & Laub was shattered on the carpet.

"That's when I knew we'd been broken into," she said.

As of Thursday morning, the only thing missing appears to be petty cash from Resident Agents.

"It could have been maybe a hundred bucks at the most. It wasn't a big deal," said Kalinowski. She said she was surprised they hadn't taken any of the computers. The businesses were not vandalized.

Deputies took the petty cash envelope to check it for fingerprints. Partial prints were collected and will be sent to a lab for comparison, Mendoza said.

A ladder truck from the Carson City Fire Department was called in to provide access to the roof, were investigators looked for signs of a break in.

"We were checking the roof for any access, too," Mendoza said.

Inside the offices, smudges found on the ceiling near a trap door raised suspicion, he said.

"They said they weren't there before," Mendoza said. "We're not sure if they are related or not."

Kalinowski said she thinks the burglars may have been hiding in the building the night before in the kitchen, bathrooms or basement.

"I guess the scary part is they could have been in here when I locked up last night. I was here alone. I'm from the L.A. area so this isn't that big of a deal."

Anyone with information relating to the crime should contact the Carson City Sheriff's Department at 887-2020 ext. 1408 or call Secret Witness at 322-4900.

All Secret Witness calls will remain anonymous.

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