Crooks Hit Businesses From Above
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CONCORD, NC — A two-year, multi-state crime spree centered around the Charlotte area. The thieves are breaking into businesses from above, making off with thousands of dollars. Police think the suspects may be based in the Charlotte area.
These crimes involve a high degree of difficulty and technical expertise. But a multi-agency effort is getting closer to cracking the case.
30 robberies in two years. Rooftop break-ins, targeting store safes, covering seven states. The bulk of the crimes in Charlotte, Concord, Kannapolis, Hickory and Rock hill.
“They love the Charlotte area,” says Detective Todd Arthur with the Concord Police Department. “For some reason, that’s where they’re hitting mostly. But they’re hitting all up and down the east coast. It looks like they’re traveling on the interstate.”
The crimes date back to 2013. The most recent was last week in Huntersville. Concord detective Todd Arthur says the thieves have a system.
“Getting into the building,” says Detective Arthur. “How they’re cutting into the safe. Everything appears to be the same.”
This is almost like something out of a movie. A brazen group of bandits, breaking in through the roof from above. On a crime spree across several states. It’s what they’re doing inside the building that separates this type of crime.
Police say they scale the building without ladders or ropes. Enter through ventilation shafts or AC units. Then walk along the ceiling, removing tiles, until they find the safe.
The payoffs can be huge. They took more than $11,000 from a Longhorn Steakhouse in Charlotte in March. More than $13,000 from a Hobby Lobby in Kannapolis a few nights later.
“My Hobby Lobby, the video on that one, you can see them look in one corner of the room, because they have a flashlight,” says Arthur. “And you can see the light shining, looking for a motion sensor in the room. Looking for where the safe is. And also looking for a camera.”
Authorities are sharing information. They have video of a black SUV at more than one crime scene, which may also be acting as a lookout. And surveillance pictures of a man whom they believe scouts the locations before the robberies.
“We’re going to get lucky,” says Arthur. “It’s going to be a patrolman on patrol, doing a property check one night, is going to actually run across these guys. That’s how we’re going to get a hit.”
If you have information on any of these crimes, you are asked to call the Cabarrus Area CrimeStoppers at 704-932-7463.
