When the Sumner Smoke Shop on 909 Alder Street in Sumner became the target of burglary twice within a five-day period, police responded by setting up a way to put a stop to any further theft.

Sumner Police Department Deputy Chief Brad Moericke said the department installed a Centurion alarm and at 12:50 a.m. Sunday, two male juveniles ages 13 and 16 broke in and were soon in custody.

The store has no security video, so police do not know if the juveniles taken into custody Sunday are responsible for the other incidents, but police believe the incidents are the work of the same two people.

Moericke said the unusual nature of the burglaries indicates the two in custody were responsible, since the only items taken in all instances were two individual packs of cigarettes.

Policed booked the two juveniles into the Pierce County Juvenile Court and charged them with two counts of burglary.

Moericke said businesses need to take resonable measures to protect the inventory and employees from crime, which is likely to be higher in the recession. An alarm is a great way to do this, he said.

“I’d recommend that business owners look wat what options are available,” he said.