A shattered sense of safety: Liquor stores hit in Cornwall, Sharon

CORNWALL — It was about dusk on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 6:45 p.m., when someone smashed a window in the front door of the Cornwall Package Store. A small amount of cash and a few bottles of liquor were taken.

Owner Richard Bramley said he doesn’t think the burglar was there for more than a few minutes. But the break-in set off an audible alarm at the store. Bramley and state police at Troop B in North Canaan were notified.

“It really looked like a smash-and-grab job,� Bramley said. “I don’t think it was premeditated, and the fact that it happened before it was completely dark points to a desperate person, probably a drug addict.�

The broken window is about 3 feet off the ground. The burglar was not able to unlock the door, but climbed in, making it likely it was a relatively agile person.

“They had to have used something like a bat or tire iron to break in. I’m just glad they got out quickly and didn’t use it to smash the coolers and bottles.�

That same night, someone attempted to break into the Sharon Package Store. Bramley said owner Jack Murtagh told him the glass door took three hits from what was obviously a heavy object, but failed to give way. After a break-in there several years ago, the door was fitted with shatterproof glass.

For Bramley, this is a third encounter with violent crime in Cornwall in less than two years. In early 2007, he was robbed at the store at gunpoint. Then there was the accident victim he attempted to help as he drove to work one snowy morning. That man stole Bramley’s pickup truck. He was later apprehended; the truck was found with a loaded gun on the front seat.

It all makes him wonder what position he and other area residents and business owners should take. No one wants to give up the peace of mind gained from living here, but state police say not locking house and car doors — an action many locals equate with “living in fear� — makes us victims.