Detectives in the town of Hamburg, New York, are looking for help solving a burglary.
A brazen bandit took off with a bundle of lottery tickets from a Hamburg convenience store. Surveillance video taken at the store may help identify the thief.
The target was a corner convenience store in the Town of Hamburg. It happened early Tuesday morning while the Big Tree Road store was closed.
Town of Hamburg Police Detective Scott Kashino said, "He smashed the first pane of a two-pane glass window with some type of object. Then he was able to force the door open. He didn't actually crawl through a window, but he was somehow able to pull the door and enter that way."
Then the store surveillence videotape shows the suspect helping himself to an undetermined amount of cash in the register, and then grabbing rolls of lottery tickets, about 1,400 of them, worth nearly $3,000.
Detectives say he's already started cashing those tickets.
The ticket trail is leading Hamburg detectives to stores in Buffalo.
Kashino said, "We've contacted an investigator with the New York State Lottery, and we've tracked down two stores on Elmwood Avenue where the winning tickets were in fact cashed in."
Town of Hamburg Police are hoping you can help them catch this burglar.
He's described as a white male, in his 30s, weighing 180 to 200 pounds. He has brown hair and is slightly balding. He wears glasses, and was last seen with a slightly grayish blue t-shirt and blue jeans.
If you recognize this man, or have any information about the stolen lottery tickets, Hamburg Police want to hear from you.
You can reach the Town of Hamburg Police Department at 648-5118, extension 2671.
In case you're wondering, the lottery tickets cashed in so far by the suspect have netted him only $60 in winnings.
