Police seek leads after two Bowie restaurants hit in smash-and-grabs
Two Bowie restaurants were hit before dawn, leaving broken windows, empty registers and fresh concern that smash-and-grabs are spreading along local shopping corridors.
Police in Bowie are looking for suspects after two restaurants, Smokey Bones and Jerry’s Seafood, were hit in early Monday smash-and-grabs that left behind broken glass, damaged offices and no arrests.
Investigators said the burglars broke a back window to get inside, then tried to steal cash registers. At Smokey Bones, manager Darius Price said the break-in reached the office but the thieves left empty-handed because the restaurant does not keep cash in its registers. Even when nothing is taken, a break-in like that can still mean repair bills, cleanup, lost staff time and a morning spent dealing with police instead of customers.
A Bowie customer, Adriane Boyd, called the crime “scary and alarming,” reflecting the unease these cases can create in a commercial strip that depends on repeat business and a sense of safety. For small restaurants, confidence matters nearly as much as revenue. A shattered back window and a forced entry can linger long after the glass is replaced, especially when diners start wondering whether the same storefront could be hit again.
The Bowie cases came days after four other restaurant break-ins were reported at Laurel Town Center, where suspects were said to have used a pickaxe to smash windows and doors, then steal thousands of dollars, along with cash boxes and a safe. That sequence has raised a broader question for Bowie businesses and police: whether the incidents are isolated hits or part of a wider pattern moving through nearby commercial corridors in Prince George’s County.
The Bowie Police Department says it publishes monthly crime reports and tracks crime data on a public map. Those reports are listed by one-hundred block, giving business owners a way to watch for clusters instead of reacting one storefront at a time. The department says its Communications Center operates 24/7 and handles non-emergency burglary reports at 240-544-5700. Anonymous tips can be called in to 240-544-5770.
The City of Bowie says the police department was established and fully operational in February 2007, and began reporting crime data to the state in July 2007. For restaurants in Bowie, the latest break-ins are another reminder that a quiet shopping center can turn vulnerable in minutes, and that the cost is measured in more than stolen cash.
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