By By Lindsey Sherrill
When they arrived at work Tuesday morning, employees of the Walnut Hill Post Office and Escambia River Electric Cooperative offices on Hwy 99A in Walnut Hill found that the building had been broken into and money removed from the safe.
"We're not sure exactly how much money was stolen, but we know it was somewhat less than $5,000," Clay Campbell, general manager and CEO of EREC, said.
According to Campbell, the thieves apparently came into the building through a bathroom, tore down an interior wall and broke into a small safe which contained money for both the post office and EREC. Gasoline was also poured in the office. The crime occured sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
The Escambia County Fla. Sheriff's Department refused to comment.
"We are in an ongoing investigation
and cannot release anything," Randy Murph of the sheriff's department said.
"We can confirm that that the office was burglarized. I have not heard any details from our investigator on site yet, but the investigation is continuing," Jan Moore of the United States Postal Service said. She said that the situation would most likely fall under Federal Burglary Statute 18USC2125 because the office is a federal building. Such a crime usually carries a minimum five year penalty, depending on the circumstances and other statutes involved.
Both the Walnut Hill Post Office and EREC offices will be closed until Friday.
The investigation into the break-in will continue by Sheriff's Department and Postal Service investigators.