Florida Holocaust Museum targeted in break-in; no damage

A 23-year-old man breaks into the Florida Holocaust Museum, but does not steal anything or cause damage any of the displays.

Local reports say St. Petersburg Police arrested Christopher Michael Venegas early yesterday morning. Surveillance camera footage at the museum in the central Florida city shows Venegas breaking an electronic keypad and call box, which sent a signal to the police, who arrive minutes later.

Venegas is charged with one count of commercial burglary and was later released on $5,000 bail. He refused to talk to police, according to WFTS Tampa Bay.

The museum praises the police for their quick response.

“In the past few years, local grants from Homeland Security have allowed us to begin upgrading our security systems,” the museum’s executive director, Elizabeth Gelman, says in a statement. “Those security measures — and the quick response from the St. Petersburg Police — assisted in keeping damage to the minimum.”

— JTA

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