Overnight, burglars smashed a window at Dollar General on East Oglethorpe. They pried open cash registers and kicked in an office door.
It's just one of several businesses in recent days and weeks that's been hit. For small businesses it's especially difficult as they are forced to spend hundreds of dollars in repairs.
Plywood covers the front window of Dollar General on East Oglethorpe. The same can be said of Advance Auto Parts just across the street. The businesses were hit by Smash and Grabbers just two days a part.
Less than a mile away, Vergilio Cruz was burglarized this week. It's the second time in a month his nail salon was broken into and it's proven costly. "I had to fix the glass for $300 and the bars cost me $750," he said.
After crooks ransacked his business he installed security bars today. His neighbor is going to do the same.
"They're going to think twice about breaking in but it's going to set us back a few more dollars," said Chris Abrigo.
The smash and grab at La Lupita restaurant last month cost Abrigo several hundred dollars, mostly in damages. Like Cruz, he says he's going to keep his business where it is, but the reckless thieves are making it hard to run a small business.
"We don't know how much longer we're going to be able to put up with it."
Who's responsible? Is it one person or a group? Whomever is behind it, the business owners want to see them caught and punished for the destruction.
Police did retrieve surveillance video from Dollar General. So far we don't have a description of a suspect.
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Chris Abrigo is tired of the crime
Dollar General's window was shattered
Vergilio Cruz's nail salon was hit, too
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