Dallas police are investigating a string of break-ins at restaurants in northeast Dallas that happened within days of each other. The burglaries were caught on surveillance video, and some business owners believe the same person is responsible.
Alan Morales, whose family owns Old Fashioned Grilled Burgers, said his restaurant was one of three businesses—all less than five miles apart—burglarized between Dec. 13 and Dec. 18.
“On camera, we caught him picking up asphalt from the street out there. And with that same asphalt, he came in, and he busted our door,” Morales said. “We saw him running out with the register, so it was too late to get here in time to try to catch him.”
The break-in occurred on the morning of Dec. 13, around 11:45 a.m. Dallas police responded to a business alarm on Plano Road.
Surveillance footage shows a man in a light-colored hoodie and backpack crawling through the glass door. From another camera angle, the man is seen yanking the cash register from the counter and walking off with it.
Three miles away at Primo Brother’s Pizza, a similar incident unfolded. A man in a light hoodie smashed the front door, crawled inside, and rummaged behind the counter. He appeared to leave with items in his hands.
Days later, another break-in occurred nearby at Mario Bros Tacos on Abrams Road. Around 1 a.m. on Dec. 18, a man in a hoodie and carrying a backpack broke into the restaurant.
Owner Mario Moya said he received an alert that someone was inside.
“He stole and opened the till in each register, which had about $100 or so in each register,” Moya said. “And then he stole employee tips that they were collecting to disperse among themselves.”
Moya said he has spoken with other nearby business owners who believe they were targeted by the same person. He believes his restaurant has been hit twice.
“As a business owner, when you leave your business at the end of the night, you expect to come back to the same business that you leave,” Moya said.
Dallas police have not said whether the burglaries are connected, only that each case remains under investigation.