FARMINGTON — Downtown area business owners reacted Tuesday to a rash of Christmas night burglaries by posting a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people involved.

Seven business owners who want to remain anonymous posted a $1,000 reward late Tuesday morning for those responsible for eight burglaries, police Chief Jack Peck said. Money was taken in some cases; in others, businesses were damaged.

Six businesses opened Monday morning to discover someone had broken in, probably during the early hours of Monday morning, Farmington Officer Bridgette Gilbert said. A couple more business owners came to work Tuesday morning to find doors damaged but nothing taken during what appeared to be attempted burglaries, she said.

Monday morning, police started their investigation after Java Joe’s on Main Street, Farmington House of Pizza on Broadway and Hair Design on Front Street all reported burglaries in which undisclosed amounts of money were taken, Gilbert said.

Timber Resource off Main Street was also broken into and damaged on the inside, but nothing taken, she said. Two businesses in West Farmington, a Longaberger basket business on Bridge Street and Hair Design on Water Street, also reported break-ins but nothing taken.

On Tuesday morning, two more businesses, Acupuncture on Front Street and Hair Razor on the Wilton Road, reported attempted burglaries, with entrances damaged during the attempt but nothing taken, she said.

The burglaries are under investigation and information is limited as Farmington police, with help from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, continue their work, Gilbert said.

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