16 business break-ins reported across area

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Shocking surveillance video shows thieves smashing their way into a southeast Charlotte ice cream shop, and police think the group of criminals may be connected to a string of overnight crimes across Mecklenburg and Union counties.

Jolly Rolls on Monroe Road was one of 15 businesses hit from Charlotte to Union County, police told Channel 9. The thieves hit the business around 1 a.m.

In the surveillance video released to Channel 9, the thieves can clearly be seen smashing the glass front door and grabbing the cash register, throwing it to the ground repeatedly, trying to get the cash out.

The three thieves then jumped into a silver Chevrolet Impala and sped off.

When officers got to the shopping center, they found even more businesses had been hit, including a sushi bar, Jimmy John’s, Crepe Bistro and Tony's Pizza.

In each of the cases, the thieves broke in through the front doors.

Shortly after the Charlotte break-ins, police said the group hit two other businesses in Matthews and then four businesses in Union County: Jack's Pizza, China II, Subway, and Little Caesar's.

Great Clips in Sycamore Commons Parkway also fell victim to the crime spree.

“Glass shattered everywhere -- all over the floors,” manager Angela Sheffield said.

Sheffield said this has been the first break-in during her eight years at Great Clips.

“These people need to be caught and everything needs to be stopped,” she said.

Officer Tim Aycock with the Matthews Police Department said his investigators are working with CMPD and the Union County Sheriff's Office to piece the cases together.

“If they are out one night doing that many break-ins at a time, it leaves you to believe they've been up to this for a while,” Aycock said.

No arrests have been made.

Cox Media Group