“I would say it’s gotten really crazy over the last three years with everyone calling and smashing glass.”
Liveridge, Louisiana. – Premier Glass in Elmwood is about 10 minutes’ drive from where 62 cars were broken into in River Ridge early on Wednesday morning.
Owner Dylan Muscutt said they receive daily calls about broken windows.
“I would say it’s gotten really crazy over the last three years with everyone calling in and breaking glass,” Muscutt said.
They were called to the River Ridge apartment complex where the car theft occurred.
“We made a bunch of glasses for those guys yesterday and as soon as we got there, of course the police were on site and then I had more customers come to me because they saw us on site because we did a mobile service, said Muscutt.
Muscutt says field service accounts for 90 percent of his business.
While changing the glass only takes about 30 minutes, Muscutt said some customers may be forced to wait for their glass to come in.
“It really depends on the vehicle. There’s a pile of glasses right now because our manufacturers can’t keep up with the high volumes of supply that can take the same day or up to three months,” Muscutt said.
He blamed the number of break-ins for the late deliveries.
“Customers are trying anything they can to find this glass online, buy their own glass and get it to us for installation,” Muscutt said.
Muscutt had someone’s car in his shop and was visiting New Orleans when their windows were broken. Now, that car is stuck there until its glass comes in.
“About 90 percent of my clients are from New Orleans, and the other 10 percent is usually within 30 miles,” Muscutt said.
Now, he has added a dozen River Ridge residents to his client list. The JPSO is still looking for two suspects in connection with the River Ridge car theft. The brothers, aged 12 and 14, were arrested on Wednesday.
Their mother, Tiffany Broomfield, was also arrested for failing to execute a warrant and for resisting officers.
Police searched her home and found a man inside, according to NOPD. He was convicted of a felony for gun possession.
The JPSO said he was not a suspect in the burglary.