Cary grab-and-go thief casually helps himself to cash

Officers think the same smooth criminal swiped money July 26 from a Walgreens at 1210 Kildaire Farm Road and struck again about an hour later at an Exxon at 1720 Walnut St.

Exxon employee Bobby Fann said he left the register unattended when he went in the back to work on a car. 

"He walked in (and) just in case somebody walked through the door, he had his wallet ready. He leaned over and inched over to the cash register and just took everything out," Fann said. "Nobody saw him come in. Nobody saw him leave. He was just like a ghost."

The cash grab took less than 30 seconds.

In both cases, witnesses told police the grab-and-go thief left in a white car believed to be a Chevrolet HHR. No one was hurt.

"It’s a very serious and special concern for us whenever larcenies occur in the middle of the day when businesses may be full of customers,” Cary police Capt. Don Hamilton said in a statement. “We hope these incidents remind retail store managers to be extra vigilant while conducting their normal operations."

Hamilton said the thief could be linked to similar crimes in the area.

"You saw the video. He's pretty calm. I wouldn't be surprised if he attempted this elsewhere," he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Cary Police at 919-469-4012 or Crime Stoppers at 919-226-2746. Crime Stoppers pays cash for information leading to an arrest, and callers may remain confidential.

Hamilton said the surveillance video was particularly high quality, and he's confident someone will come forward with an ID.

"That's excellent quality video. If he was my neighbor or coworker, I'd know who he is," he said. 

Fann said that, besides the cash, the thief stole a sense of community.

"We usually have a neighborhood feel in here, but when somebody does something like that, you can't trust anybody now," he said. "It kind of destroys that neighborhood feel."