Someone stole about $5,000 in equipment from a downtown cafe and concert house last weekend.

A thief or thieves climbed in an open but barred window in the back courtyard the Village Cafe and Concert House., 171 S. Washington St., and stole recording equipment, guitars, appliances, an air conditioner and power tools, said owner Doug LaPlante.

LaPlante is remodeling the building with a couple of friends and said the bars on the window were so narrow he didn't think anyone could fit through. Apparently he was wrong, and the window has since been boarded up.

"In the last 30 years I don't ever remember it being broken into," LaPlante said. He recalled playing there in the 1990s. He's leased the space for about a year. It serves as a fundraising spot for LaPlante's nonprofit, the Village Experience, which provides free music lessons, instruments, and recording access to children.

A fundraiser is planned for Aug. 31 at Ugly Bettie's, 211 N. Division St.

Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

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