Police are investigating a break-in that occurred early Wednesday morning at Ward Amidon Jewelers, located on Main St., near The Nugget Theater.
The unidentified burglar smashed several display cases and stole watches of a combined value of less than $600, according to store manager Steven Doubleday.
A surveillance tape revealed that only one burglar entered the store during the break-in. His face concealed beneath a piece of clothing, the perpetrator entered the store by using a blunt object to smash an alley-side window.
The police have yet to determine the person's gender.
Hanover Police department received signals from the store's burglary alarm at 3:03 a.m., and officers arrived at Ward Amidon Jewelers soon after. Lebanon police also arrived to provide backup.
"We were there in less than one minute," Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said.
The burglar had already fled the scene by the time Hanover police arrived.
Giaccone also said that the police department was unsure whether the burglar had an accomplice or an escape vehicle.
The police department is scrutinizing 24-hour surveillance tapes of adjacent businesses to potentially fill gaps in knowledge.
Doubleday called Wednesday's break-in a foolish move.
"Someone isn't using their brain cells if they are breaking into a jewelry store," Doubleday said. "They should have known that there is obviously security here."
Doubleday also said that the incident was a "non-event" in the sense that it would not drastically alter the store's business and after-hours security system.
Doubleday indicated that he was particularly pleased that the store alarm scared away the burglar before maximum damage could be done and that the security camera caught the burglar in action.
"We continuously upgrade our security measures and have one of the most high-tech systems in the area," he said.
Commercial burglaries occur very infrequently in the Upper Valley. In fact, the burglary at Ward Amidon Jewelers was "the first burglary of this nature this year," according to Giaccone.
However, Doubleday said that Wednesday's burglary did not come as an complete surprise.
"It is a little unexpected in some ways," Doubleday said, "but the fact of the matter is that it happens everywhere."
Doug Lanz, who works at Von Bargon's Jewelry on Main St., also said that jewelry store burglaries are to be expected.
"It goes on anywhere," Lanz said. "You just have to pray every day that something like this doesn't happen."
Like Ward Amidon, Von Bargen's does not intend on changing its security plans in light of the incident.
"Our security is already tight," Lanz said. "It doesn't do anything more than make us more aware that this type of stuff goes on even in little old Hanover, New Hampshire."
Wednesday's incident marked the second time that Ward Amidon Jewelers has been burglarized under its current ownership.
In 1997, two men armed with guns tied up two female clerks and filled a pillowcase with cash and jewelry. Police arrested the two men nearly four years later.
