Two Overnight Smash & Grabs - 1 at Greenbriar and 1 in the West End

Two business owners and customers of their southwest Atlanta businesses are waking up to broken glass today, as their storefronts were broken into overnight.  Atlanta Police say that both crimes were by the same person or group of people.

According to APD, the Master Beauty Supply store on Headland Drive was attempted to be robbed first.  It was around 2:30 a.m., according to police reports, that the responding officers saw, "a beige minivan backed into the front doors of 3031 Headland Drive SW." 

Witnesses told the officers that they saw the suspects flee in a black vehicle, but had no other information.  The beige Chrysler Towne and Country found in the front door was used to gain access to the business, and police say it had been recently reported stolen.

APD says, "nothing was reported stolen from the store," and that, "video surveillance of the store revealed that there were four black males in the vehicle when it backed into the store. The four males then exited the vehicle and ran toward a black four door sedan."

Investigators now believe that this same black getaway car was then involved in another smash & grab in the West End area. 

Within about 30 minutes, the perpetrators drove to West End Discount Pharmacy and Food Store on Joseph Lowery Blvd., according to police and were able to steal roughly $3000 is prescription drugs. 

According to the police report, officers responded to the scene and actually saw the getaway car speed off as officers got to the scene.  "The vehicle came directly at my patrol car swung to the left of me and took off over the side walk heading east bound towards the CVS Pharmacy parking lot," said the responding officer.

"We were unable to maintain speed and lost sight of the vehicle on Central Avenue."

It was discovered that although entry was not made inside the pharmacy, various prescription medications located within hand reach where stolen. The owner of the West End Pharmacy Mr. George Doe came on scene to assess what prescriptions where stolen and the valued of the items stolen. The pharmacist stated the prescriptions stolen where not narcotic and were various maintenance medications. The pharmacist stated the value of the medications stolen were approximately $2000 to $3000 worth of maintenance medication filled for patient pick up.

Atlanta Police told Cascade Patch, "on the video surveillance camera three black males were observed walking towards the rear of the business. The males can be seen walking back towards the black vehicle and directly walking to the side of the business peeping through the glass window."

These males were then observed to have taken a brick and throwing it through the glass shattering it to pieces. Police say that after the glass was shattered the males were observed withdrawing various white paper bags through the busted glass. The three males where then joined by three additional males all wearing black colored hoodies, blue jeans, white and black sneakers, which led investigators to call the gang unit for even more investigations.

Police officers say that there was evidence left behind that may have DNA and/or fingerprints that could help them solve this case.