Police investigating rash of Fort Smith business break-ins

A Fort Smith liquor store owner said a man is wanted in connection with multiple break-ins at liquor stores and other businesses in recent days, and he appears to have hit her store too.

Kerri Taake, owner of Cheers of Fort Smith, said a man broke through her front door at 4000 Rogers Ave. at 3:20 a.m. Thursday, Dec 1. The man was caught in the act on surveillance camera video. He looks a lot like the same suspect in other cases, she said. He appears to wear the same "Breaking Bad" Walter White mask.

Detectives investigating the crime told her there are more than a dozen break-ins that could be related, she said.

At Cheers of Fort Smith, the man took a bottle of Crown Royal and cash from the drawer at Cheers.

"The most expensive thing he did was break the door," Taake said.

Then early Friday, Dec. 2, Eastside Liquor, 9390 Rogers Ave. was burglarized. Video is available from about a dozen other burglaries showing what appears to be the same man.

Nothing was stolen at Eastside.

The man broke in about 4 a.m., said Jessica Smith, an Eastside Liquor employee. The front glass door was broken with a rock. The burglar only found coins in the cash register and left without taking any money. Police obtained images from the burglary to compare to the other crimes reported recently, she said.

At The Well Liquor, about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, a man wearing the same mask used a rock to break into the store at 1328 Waldron Road. According to a Facebook post, the burglar stole cigarettes and liquor. The store announced a reward of $2,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information about the break-ins can call Fort Smith Crime Stoppers at 479-782-7463.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Police investigate rash of Fort Smith business burglaries