Police have arrested five people who they said smashed the glass front door of the Family Dollar Store in Hamden and tried to break into the store’s cigarette storage locker.
Police responded to the Family Dollar Store at 1245 Dixwell Avenue at 1:05 a.m. on Tuesday when he burglar alarm went off, according to police.
Surveillance footage showed a pipe was used to break the glass before five people broke in.
When the would-be burglars couldn’t get to the cigarettes, they hurried out of the shop and it does not appear anything was actually taken, police said.
Sgt. Michael Nawrocki and his police dog, “Hank,” started following the track, which led them to a vacant third-floor apartment at 35 Gorham Avenue, police said.
Inside, police found Frank Pepe, 19, of Branford, Jaquan Beal, 18, of New Haven,
and a 14 year-old Hamden resident hiding in a closet, police said.
Desmond Howard, 20, of Hamden, was arrested while trying to run away, police said and Amber Mugford, 18, a resident of the Hamden building, was also arrested and seized evidence from the home.
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All five were charged with third-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary in the third degree, criminal mischief in the second degree and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief in the second degree.
Pepe, Howard, Beal and Mugford were detained on a $5,000 bond and the juvenile was released to a relative.
