NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WVEC) -- Investigators are working to track down burglars who drove a car into two Verizon Wireless stores, then took off with cell phones and other items.
Police said the incidents happened early Sunday.
The first burglary took place just before 4 a.m. at the Verizon Wireless store located at 12515 Jefferson Ave. Officers found the glass front doors laying several feet in front of the business. There were tire marks at the entrance, and pieces of a bumper were inside the building.
Then, just before 4:30 a.m., officers were at the Verizon Wireless store located at 12430 Warwick Blvd.
A witness told police there was a loud crash at the second crime where a white Jeep drove into the building.
Several people who ran inside the store ran back to the SUV then left the parking lot heading towards Bland Blvd.
Because of the burglaries, some business owners are increasing security at their own stores.
“We're in the process of adding more cameras to get a better view of what's going on out on the sidewalk,” said Jessica Morse, owner of Pigtails & Crewcuts which is next to the store on Jefferson Avenue that was burglarized. “A lot of us are small business owners, and we're just trying to make a living, make a paycheck and when a store gets broken into it hurts business all around."
Brian Richardson works a couple of doors down from the Verizon Wireless store on Warwick Boulevard at the Village Thrift.
“It's sad,” Richardson told 13News Now. “We don't hear crime happening around here, so when it does people are worried to come here.”
Anyone with information about either burglary can call Crime Line at 1-800-LOCK-U-UP.