LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Holiday shopping is well underway, and local businesses believe every bit helps. However, instead of coming to spend money, a thief stole it from shops across the area.
A burglar hit three different businesses in the Louisville area on Thanksgiving, including Pop's Comics on Hess Lane.
Surveillance video from Pop's Comics shows a thief pulling up in the parking lot in a dark SUV just before 2 a.m. There's no license plate on the car.
Video shows someone jumped out and slammed a large piece of metal into the front door of the shop three times before using their body weight to finally pry it open. The suspect focused on getting into the back storage room. However, when that door wouldn't budge, the thief bolted with the register.
The whole break-in took less than a minute.
"It was a huge hit," Pop's Comics owner Heather Messmer said. "This is the biggest time of our year. It definitely hurts a small business trying to make it."
Messmer watched it all unfold on her security camera.
"It was very frustrating and disappointing," she said.Â
Comic Book World Manager Jacob Maynard said he came in after the break-in to clean up shattered glass from the broken front door.
The thief got away with $200 and left Messmer with a thousand-dollar repair job to fix the shattered door.Â
That wasn't the end of the suspect's crime spree, though. LMPD said the same person broke into Fat Rabbit on Barrett Avenue as well as Comic Book World on Shepherdsville Road.Â
Comic Book World Manager Jacob Maynard said he came in right after the break-in to clean up shattered glass. He said the thief got away with a few bucks.
"We don't really keep cash laying around," Maynard said. "Especially when we're closed, so they didn't get much from us."
Maynard said it's "pretty terrible that someone would do this to all these local businesses."
Although no merchandise was stolen, both comic book shops were stuck with costly repairs. Messer also said the thief "stepped on and damaged" some Funko Pop packaging, so she has to mark down the prices.
Messer said money for repairs will be pulled from somewhere else, "whether it's paying for another Comic Con to get some extra money in, or our poor kiddos. I know they want their payroll."
When asked what she would like to say to the thief, Messer replied: "We're not going to be easy to do this to again. We're sorry you needed that money. We'd have loved to help you out."
LMPD hasn't made any arrests. Anyone with information about this or any other case is asked to leave an anonymous tip on the LMPD Crime Tip Line at 502-574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department's Crime Tip Portal by clicking here.Â
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