Canfield Police are reporting multiple targeted thefts from multiple Asian business owners in the city over the past year.

Sergeant Josh Wells with the Canfield Police Department tells 21 News three separate Asian business owners were targeted between February of 2023 and June of 2024.

Wells tells us groups are going to the business owners' houses while the owners are at the businesses and stealing from them. The first theft was in February of 2023 and the second was in May of 2024.

An attempted third theft happened in June of 2024 as well.

“I don't believe there's any indication that it would be a hate crime, that they are targeting them because of their race," Sergeant Wells said noting that none of the homeowners are connected in any way. "I think it's more of a crime of opportunity based on the circumstances regarding them being business owners.”

A police report detailing the attempted theft in May states that the victim left for work in the morning and came back about 12 hours later to find her garage door and the main door inside the garage open.

Police were called out to the scene, but nobody was found in the home. However, police say there were gouge marks on the hardwood floor and two bedsheets and a floor mat laying on the garage floor. 

Police also say most of the drawers and closets in the house were left open and gone through, wires were left unplugged, security cameras were turned off with the lenses face down and two safes were missing.

According to the report, the thieves tried and failed to gain access to a gun cabinet.

“They’re wearing long sleeve shirts, facial coverings, hats, pants, gloves," Wells said about the pattern the thieves have followed in every case. "I can’t say they're all the same people. It seems to be a trend being executed by multiple different groups”

Wells believes this to be a group of traveling thieves hitting business owners across multiple different states. He said the department has stepped up patrols and encourage people to keep an eye out for anything suspicious in their neighborhood. If they run into a red flag like an unknown person in someone's home or an unknown car in the drive way they should call Canfield Police.

Besides targeting Asian business owners, Wells said groups like this have also been known to go state to state and hit chain stores, typically stealing beauty products with high resale values. 

A report from April of 2024 tells the story of another business owner who noticed some facial care items missing and unaccounted for when doing a routine inventory count.

Police say security camera footage shows three females and one male stealing over $2,200 worth of facial care products, as well as various vitamins and supplements.

Another report from July of 2024 detailed a call received by a CVS Pharmacy in Canfield from a person posing as a doctor filling out a prescription for a cough medicine commonly abused by those with an opioid addiction.

Police say a nearby Giant Eagle pharmacy also got a similar call.

Police conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle that showed up to pick up the prescription with a suspect telling officers he was picking up a prescription for a friend.

As for the incidents involving Asian business owners Canfield police have not named any suspects. Wells said they are working with other agencies across the nation waiting for the group to make a mistake so they can arrest them and trace them back to Canfield.