by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

When security alarms pierced the cool early morning air on April 30, the Chestnut Hill business community felt its stomach twist into one collective knot. Not again.

Thomas Hughes, a North Philadelphia man who had been convicted and served a three-year prison term for burglarizing a group of Chestnut Hill businesses in 1999, was back.

Around 3:30 a.m., Hughes broke into Solaris Grille and stole some loose change and beer, managing to escape before police arrived. With police en route, Hughes brazenly proceeded up the 8200 block of Germantown Ave. and forced entry into another restaurant, Stella Notte. Hughes added about $10 in change to his night's loot, but caused about $600 worth of damage to the business' doors.

Less than a week later, police apprehended Hughes on foot for another early morning burglary of the CVS pharmacy on May 5. He was carrying a backpack of stolen merchandise including, batteries and disposable 35mm cameras.

The spree had started on April 10 when Hughes broke into the Trolley Car Diner in Mt. Airy, smashing the business' door with a rock and damaging its register and computer system. Nothing was stolen.

An unsettling spring, announced with the Hughes burglaries, continued with a string of armed robberies that rocked the community in late May. And with those suspects still at large, victimized businesses along Germantown Avenue have taken defensive measures. Joining 3000 BC spa and Randolph's Jewelers, Brass Boudoir installed a security buzzer on its door.

But crime on the Avenue is nothing new to Greg Welsh, manager of both the Chestnut Grill and Stella Notte. After a rash of armed robberies in May 2000, Welsh joined with nine other Hill businesses and hired additional police protection to deter crime from the 8200 block of Germantown Avenue. While the Police Protection Program succeeded, Welsh knows that strong law enforcement is only the front end of a justice system fraught with the frustrating delay tactics of defense lawyers.

But on October 25, Welsh joined Suzanne Biemiller, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business Association, and representatives from last spring's burglarized businesses in sending a strong message at Hughes' sentencing: It doesn't pay to do crime in Chestnut Hill. Hughes was sentenced to 7 1/2 to 15 years for four counts of burglary, with an additional mandatory 18 months for violating his parole.

The small group of business representatives did what others had often failed to do in the past: they persevered and showed up.

"It puts a human face to the crime," said Joel Rosen, assistant district attorney. When a judge sees a community presence in the courtroom, Rosen said, it makes a difference.

Biemiller stresses the importance of not only reporting criminal activity, but also following through with the prosecution. "Crime does increase the cost of doing business in Chestnut Hill," she said, citing the flurry of phone calls to her office last spring from scared entrepreneurs inquiring about security guards, door buzzers and security cameras.

"Every one of these crimes chips away at the sense of community and civility we all rely upon in Chestnut Hill," Welsh said. "If we want to deter crime, we have to do more than just sit around and complain about it. We have to become proactive."

For several years, Welsh said he has floated the idea of forming a support team for merchants, residents and patrons victimized by crime in Chestnut Hill. He has even suggested designating Business Improvement District resources for keeping a legal firm on retainer to work with victims. Some form of a support organization, Welsh said, would encourage prosecution and simplify a complicated legal process.

"It sends a message that if you commit a crime and you get caught, we're going to make sure the system works," Welsh said. "And you're going to be punished for what you do."

Welsh contrasts the tough-on-crime legal system of Montgomery county with Philadelphia's, which deters victimized shop owners with its seemingly infinite continuances.

"I think we really need to define our community," he said. "If you commit a crime in Chestnut Hill, we're going to make sure we're at the sentencing, we're going to follow up with the victims, and we're going to address the usual ploys of the delay tactic."

Since the last armed robbery in May, said Inspector Jack Gaittens of the Northwest Detective Division, "robberies have been practically non-existent." Gaittens described Hughes' prosecution and sentencing as a "success  story" from the District Attorney's repeat-offender unit. With its vertical prosecution approach, prosecutors are each assigned to individual career offenders whose cases they follow throughout their criminal history. Prior to the approach, a case would be juggled by as many as five different prosecutors, none of which possessed an intimate knowledge of the subject. "It really put us behind the eight-ball," Gaittens said. The result: criminals would return to the street without punishment almost overnight. "It gets frustrating for the police when you arrest a guy 10, 15 times," he said.

Gaittens lauds the new prosecution method, citing Hughes' sentence as an example of its effectiveness. "Thomas Hughes is a burglar," he said. "That's his function in life. He breaks into whatever he can get into and takes whatever he can carry."

"Hopefully, he'll spend enough time to deter him from coming back here and going it again," Gaittens added.

And although Gaittens characterizes Chestnut Hill as one of the safest areas in the entire Northwest Division, Welsh and the business association want to ensure that criminals think twice before coming to Chestnut Hill.

Welsh concedes that Chestnut Hill rarely experiences the violent crime regularly seen in other areas of the police district, but maintains that any crime violates the community's sense of safety.

"It's an ongoing constant battle, and unless people start to address it, it's going to continue to erode the quality of life that we hope to enjoy, not only here, but all over the city."