Store Owner Vows To Rebuild After “Lotto Bandit” Torches Store
A Rome convenience store owner says he will rebuild after a robber busted out the glass in his door, swiped some lottery tickets and torched his store.
Vipinchandra Patel says his store suffered heavy damage and his inventory is a complete loss with total damages over 100 thousand dollars. Patel says he has a good business at the Dean Street location, he says he has never been robbed and never thought anything like this would happen.
Fire officials are still investigating early morning fire that is very similar to several other fires that have plagued the North Georgia area for the last year.
Most recently a Paulding County store was torched. According to state arson investigators, they have evidence someone broke in, stole a large number of lottery tickets and torched the store to cover the crime.
A similar incident occurred in southern Floyd County in late May at a store on Highway 101.
In that incident, Surveillance video showed the man entering the store and spraying lighter fluid all over the counter and around the front door at 4:04am. He lit the puddle of fluid on the counter and according to Rome Fire Marshall Scott Silvey, “It blew up in his face”.
He then grabbed two stacks of $20 dollar lottery tickets and made his escape.
Silvey says a similar smash, burn and grab robbery occurred in December of 2005 where the robber busted the front door, sprayed lighter fluid and set it on fire to cover his tracks. That incident occurred at a gas station on Chateau Drive. There was also a similar incident in Cedartown and another in Douglasville Silvey says.
A meeting of a joint task force involving the ATF, GBI, State Fire Marshall’s office and all involved local jurisdictions is scheduled to take place Wednesday morning. Silvey says more information could be released after that time.
Meanwhile, Mr. Patel says he should be back open in about a month and a half.
