Police are investigating several break-ins at businesses in New Haven on Thursday morning and said three sites were ransacked.
Police said they responded to Vinas Wine & Tapas restaurant on Orange Street at 4:15 a.m. after a burglar alarm went off and found broken windows at the restaurant as well as at Elm City Games and Ninth Square Market.
Video shows someone walking up and down Orange Street early Thursday morning.
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The person walked up to Elm City Games at 3:08 a.m., walked back a moment later, then smashed the glass door with what appeared to be a brick and went inside at 3:10 a.m.
The person approached Vinas around 15 minutes later and threw a brick at the glass door, then went inside, headed to the area behind the door, ripped out the cash register and left.
Around 45 minutes later, the person returned for the second register.
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Mario Mena, the owner, said he is frustrated.
“It feels like somebody broke into your house, you know. You're trying every day to you know, to have a business that is successful and then you know, you have to struggle with the economy,” he said.
He said when something like this happens, it’s like going three steps backward and it’s “very, very frustrating.”
“They planned it. They did it. This is organized crime around here,” he said. “Hopefully, we can find these people and hopefully made them pay for what they did. This is very, very sad. You know, we have buildings that development is a beautiful area, so beautiful, you know, historic district, and because a lot of people around here they are ruining it.”
Mena said he opened the business seven months ago and there was an attempted break-in recently. Cars are also being broken into in the area and something needs to be done, he said.
Vinas Restaurant is located at 85 Orange St., and Elm City Games and Ninth Square Market are on Orange Street as well.
Detectives are investigating.
Police ask anyone who saw what happened or who has information that could help in the investigation to call detectives at 203-946-6304 or the department's anonymous tip-line at 866-888-TIPS (8477).
