Thieves hit Palm Springs antique shops

Multiple antique shops in Palm Springs have been hit by burglars in recent days. Three men walked into Antique Galleries of Palm Springs and walked out with an item worth a few thousand dollars. Thomas Whelan and another employee were working at the time of the burglary. “Pulled us into different areas of the stores and while one of us was up stairs and the other was away from the front, one of the gentlemen actually walked out with a very expensive item,” said Whelan. A one-of-a-kind Duke of Wellington Drum Major Baton worth 3,000 dollars was stolen and it was all caught on camera. Whelan also provided us with photos of each suspect. A similar burglary happened right down the street. “Just about a block from here there’s another store called Little Shop Treasures and they were hit two days prior to us, we believe by the same gentleman,” said Whelan. I talked to an employee at Little Shop Treasures and he said the burglars used the same method to distract employees before stealing a 1,000 dollar antique. The recent burglaries have other business owners in the area on high-alert. “Police do what they can and it’s just as much as our responsibility to do what we can. When we’re not here we have alarms, we have all kinds of systems. When we are here we have to be more diligent than the average person,” said Brian McMahon, business owner of Echo Furnishings in the Sunny Dunes Antique District.