Late Tuesday night Otterbein and Westerville police officers responded to an attempted breaking and entering at Chocolaterie Stam, located at 79 S. State St. in Uptown Westerville.
Officers were dispatched from both police departments in search of two suspects, one male, Jason Skaggs, and one female, Tonya Harris. Both are Columbus residents. Skaggs was pursued on foot and tased by Otterbein’s Sergeant Jeff Tornberg. Harris fled the scene wearing blue jeans and a pink hoodie, and is still at large — there is a warrant out for her arrest.
Westerville’s Corporal Greg Franey said this is the second attempted breaking and entering at Chocolaterie Stam’s shop in the last few weeks, and it was the second response to a burglary in Westerville in the last 24 hours.
Franey warns against the assumption that Westerville is safe. “Many businesses, they leave money out,” Franey said. “There’s opportunity here. In the suburbs in general — people are a little more relaxed. People need to take the same precautions as if they lived in downtown Columbus.”
Lock your cars and houses, he says. And if you’re walking at night, stay in groups.
