An intruder crawled through the attic space above Snapperz Grill & Steam Bar in Morehead City early Sunday morning and came crashing through the ceiling into the kitchen below, leaving behind extensive damage that shut the restaurant down for three days. The break-in tore up the interior and kitchen area of the family-owned seafood spot on Arendell Street, and as of Wednesday's reopening, police still had no suspect identified and no further details on how the intruder got into the attic in the first place.
Security footage and police reports from the Sunday, August 16 incident showed the person entering through an attic crawl space before falling through the ceiling, according to WCTI News 12. That fall is what caused the heavy structural damage to the kitchen, requiring crews to spend three full days cleaning up before the restaurant could reopen. Snapperz staff declined to give an interview to the station, and Morehead City police said they had no additional information or immediately available suspects to share when the story was first reported.
Restaurant Back Open, But Case Remains Unsolved
Snapperz reopened its doors on Wednesday at 11 a.m., per the same account, ending a three-day closure that followed the weekend break-in. Security cameras did capture a person during the incident, and the Morehead City Police Department has asked anyone with information about the break-in to come forward. No arrests had been announced as of the restaurant's reopening.
Snapperz Grill & Steam Bar operates at 3710 Arendell Street in Morehead City under owner Marvin Hanford, with a second location in nearby Emerald Isle. This is not the first time the restaurant has dealt with a criminal matter tied to its operations. Back in December 2021, a former waitress at the Morehead City location was prosecuted on four felony charges, including larceny by employee, after being accused of altering credit card tip amounts, with Hanford speaking publicly at the time about protections for customers.
What Charges Could Follow an Identification
If police do identify and arrest the person seen on camera, North Carolina law lays out a clear path for prosecutors. Breaking or entering a commercial building with intent to commit a felony or larceny is a Class H felony under North Carolina General Statute § 14-54, punishable by up to 39 months in prison along with court-ordered restitution and fines, according to Powers Law Firm PA. Given the scale of the kitchen damage, prosecutors could also pursue charges under North Carolina General Statutes § 14-127, which covers willful and wanton property damage as either a misdemeanor or felony depending on the dollar amount involved.
Whether any money or inventory was taken during the break-in, and what the total repair bill came to, remain open questions that have not been publicly answered. Police also have not said whether the footage has produced any leads on a motive.
A Busy Commercial Corridor With Rising Property Crime
Snapperz sits along the Arendell Street corridor, which functions as Morehead City's central commercial artery and is home to major retail centers including Cypress Bay Plaza, sold for $24 million in a deal Hoodline reported in May. The break-in also lands amid a documented uptick in local property crime. Morehead City recorded 306 total property crimes in 2024, including 17 burglaries and 281 larceny-theft offenses, across a population of roughly 9,960 residents, according to FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data compiled by OpenCrime.
That total marked a 7% increase from 2023, when the town logged 286 property crimes, pushing Morehead City's property crime rate to 3,072.3 per 100,000 residents, per the same data. Two years earlier, in 2022, the Morehead City Police Department investigated 35 burglary and breaking-and-entering cases along with 99 property destruction or vandalism complaints, according to StatisNostics. Morehead City is the largest municipality in Carteret County, which has a population of approximately 70,193, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
For now, Snapperz is back to serving customers, but the Morehead City Police Department's investigation into who fell through that ceiling remains open. Anyone with information about the break-in is asked to contact police.
