KETTERING — There’s been a spike in cell phone stories robberies in recent months and area law enforcement are working to determine if they are connected, police said after the break-ins at the Sprint and Verizon stores Monday.
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Surveillance footage shows suspected thieves using a rock to smash the front door glass window of the Kettering Sprint store on West Dorothy Lane. Once inside, the suspects took whatever they could find.
There have been several similar cases, including ones in which guns were drawn and pointed at customers and store staff. In February, six juveniles officials say are connected to two local gangs were arrested for allegedly robbing a Huber Heights AT&T store at gunpoint. The suspects were arrested after a high-speed chase and manhunt.
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The suspects who robbed the Sprint store in Kettering on Monday are teens and young adults, Kettering police said. The robberies are happening a lot because the phones are being sold around the world, police said.
“We believe they are sold here in the U.S., but a number of them are going overseas,” said Lt. Michael Gabrielson, spokesman for the Kettering Police Department.
First report:
Two area wireless stores were broken into early Monday morning.
The Verizon store in the 3000 block of Far Hills Avenue was reportedly broken into around 5:10 a.m.
A Sprint store in the 1600 block of West Dorothy Lane was also broken into a few minutes later.
>> WATCH: Surveillance video shows burglars breaking into cellular stores
Officials say the suspected thieves were unsuccessful in attempting to break into the Verizon store on Far Hills Avenue, so they moved on to the Sprint store on W. Dorothy Lane.
No word yet on if anything was taken from the Sprint store.
This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.