RALEIGH — Raleigh police are looking for a robber who gives a whole new meaning to "smash and grab." In fact, you may even want to call this a case of "crash and grab."

They're putting the pieces of Karen Murphree's dog grooming store back together. Sometime early Thursday morning, someone drove through the store, getting away with about $100 from her register.

Karen's business is closed for the next few days, but her's isn't the only business that has been hit during the past 48 hours. A thief, or thieves, have used some kind of automobile to ram into the back entrances of two other North Raleigh business. In one case, a whole safe was stolen.

Murphree says that the police told her that crash and grab robberies are part of a growing trend.

There appears to be one common thread in the string of robberies. The culprit drove the car or truck through areas which would be hard to see -- the back entrances of buildings or near dumpsters. All of the knocked-over businesses are located within a one mile of each other.