MINT HILL, N.C. -- Burglars have been striking Mint Hill homes practically every other day during the month of November, and many times walking away with new weapons.

No one particular neighborhood has been targeted, but many of the burglaries have come on dead end streets.

Thieves took advantage of the privacy around Robert Smith’s home on Tuesday. Locked doors didn’t stop them from striking in broad daylight.

“They kicked in this door, the deadbolt is busted,” he said. “They took this flat panel TV.”

Smith lost three guns and some electronics in the burglary. His home is just one of 14 hit in the last few weeks.

“You hear about these things like everyone else and it just hits close to home,” said neighbor Jack Boger.

Personal items were taken from the homes, like a safe ripped from a victim's bedroom, but what concerns detectives most is the 18 guns stolen from these homes.

“It's pretty much anything you can think of -- long guns, rifles, handguns -- you name it, we've had one of them (stolen),” said Det. Ann Marie Garmon of the Mint Hill Police Department.

Officers made one arrest on Tuesday after spotting a car that matched a description Smith's neighbor called into police.

“I had the serial number, I read it back to (the officer), and he said, ‘I'm looking at your TV,’ and then off to the side I heard him say, ‘Arrest this guy,’” Smith said.

Police arrested 17-year old Jared Ellis, who they say had Smith’s TV and rifle.

But if any more weapons are recovered, they aren’t guaranteed to go back to their rightful owners.

“Without having that serial number recorded, we can't prove who it belongs to so we can't return it to the owner,” Garmon said.

Records show less than half the victims kept the serial numbers of their guns, something the police department is urging all gun owners to do.

The department is helping residents keep up with serial numbers through its property registration program, which started in February. People can register guns and other personal items, like TVs and cameras, with police. Detectives enter the serial numbers into their database so if the items are stolen and eventually recovered, officers can return it to the owner.

Meanwhile, police want residents to be on the look out. Garmon said she believes all the break-ins are connected, meaning the day-time burglars now carry quite an arsenal. Although one arrest has been made, police believe at least three burglars are still on the loose.