JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Timed Exercise in Avondale was burglarized Monday morning, leaving more than $6,000.
Someone threw a cinder block through the window, which was being replaced.
Burglars stole cash, checks and computer systems, and tried to steal a TV but couldn't get it. They did, however, short it out.
"(Police) won't be able to get fingerprints from a cinder block because of the material that the block is made of, and it won't hold fingerprints, but it's very possible they'll get evidence from the TV they tried to steal," News4Jax crime analyst Gil Smith said.
There were no surveillance cameras at the facility, and regional manager David Smith said there will be from now on, along with an alarm system.
"Glass everywhere, big piece of concrete sitting in the floor, and of course right away you know what happened and just start checking what was gone," David Smith said.
Those at Timed Exercise said every couple of years around this time there is a string of break-ins in the area.
According to the city, 22 burglaries have been reported within a half-mile radius of the gym on St. Johns Avenue in the last year.
David Smith said he stopped by the gym Sunday to grab a few things and noticed two people sitting inside a vehicle in the parking lot staring at the gym.
"They sat out there for a good 30-45 minutes, and when I left, they left," David Smith said. "As I was looking out my rear-view mirror, it struck me as pretty suspicious."
He didn't get a license plate number and now wishes he had just in case.
"There's good people, there's a few bad, but you can't let them spoil your outlook on life in general," David Smith said. "I'm not going to let them affect us in that way."
Anyone with any information about the break-in is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.