A break in and theft of alcohol from Trojan Lanes followed an attempt by what are believed to be the same individuals around 4 a.m. Thursday night to break into Booze ‘N Bait, and now the two affected businesses are offering a $300 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

Greg Goodman, owner of Booze ‘N Bait, said that the two culprits — who were caught on an outdoor security camera — first broke out the large front window at his store and attempted to kick in the metal bars.

Breaking a window set off the store’s alarms, and the two individuals were unable to gain entry, Goodman said.

“Most people know that we own the technology store right next door, so you would think they’d know there’s going to be cameras everywhere,” he said.

Goodman said that they take security very seriously at Booze ‘N Bait.

The two individuals caught on camera were wearing masks and had the hoods on their shirts up. They were also wearing backpacks, with the packs hanging in front of them and open.

Goodman said that aside from the hundreds of dollars in alcohol they took from Trojan Lanes, the fact that they attempted to break into a firearm dealer exposes the individuals to federal charges.

In addition to the close regulation of firearms, Goodman said that the store has computers used for background checks that give access to information from the FBI.

“So, yep, it’s a major thing that they attempted to do — not very bright,” Goodman said.

Goodman said that the individuals responsible made a poor choice of targets, given the penalties for attempting to break into a gun store and how seriously such a situation will be treated by authorities.

“It is a really dumb choice,” he said.

As of Monday, Goodman was still waiting to find out how much it will cost to replace the window the individuals broke out, he said.

“We were thinking between us and Trojan Lanes — we’re using the same glass company — we’re thinking it’s going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,000,” he said.

Goodman said that he has been impressed with how the local community has responded to the incident.

“We put it on social media, and it went viral,” he said.

A Facebook video of the suspects looking in the windows of Booze ‘N Bait is already past 1,100 views, and posts with photos taken from the video have had hundreds of shares.

“Everybody’s starting to bring information forward,” Goodman said.

Goodman said that he and the owners of Trojan Lanes are coming together to offer the $300 reward for information that leads to the arrests of those responsible.

Anyone with information about the incidents Thursday night is asked to call the Troy Police Department.

A link to the video of the suspects has been posted on the Booze ‘N Bait Facebook page, which can be found by using the Facebook search function and entering the store’s name.

Information can be relayed to Troy Dispatch at 406-295-4111, or by calling the same number and dialing extension 22, a message can be left directly for Troy Police Officer Henry Roy.