An early morning smash and grab was the wake up call for the owner of Market on 3rd Avenue and Church Street in Nashville after the alarm company called to report a break-in.
"I was very mad. When I came in, the police were doing their job. There was a K9 unit. They were trying to figure out where the guy is," said the Market store owner.
Around 4 a.m. a suspect shattered the glass door on the side of the business that was closed for the evening. The store owner said the suspect grabbed a fire extinguisher out of a garage, made a right, and then threw it through this glass door. That's how he was able to make off with 35 lottery tickets.
The store owner said he now has to foot the $700 bill to repair the door.
"You work hard, and then somebody comes and takes what you're working for," said the owner.
Police have been hoping someone may know some information that can help put the man responsible behind bars.
As for those stolen lottery tickets - they're now useless.
"They were able to shut down and block those lottery numbers, so whoever gets those tickets is unable to use them in any way," said the store owner.
This was not the first time the Market has been broken into, but this time, the suspect only snatched the lottery tickets in a matter of seconds. The store owner has hoped the thief will be cashing in on some jail time.
The owner said the suspect tried to cash those stolen tickets, but the transaction was blocked.
Anyone with information on the burglary should call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME.
