Three Baltimore businesses were burglarized within about 25 minutes of each other early Wednesday morning, with windows and doors smashed at a restaurant and two other storefronts before a cash register and a coin-operated machine were carried off from the last location hit.
According to FOX45, the string of break-ins began around 5:06 a.m. at a restaurant in the 200 block of West 29th Street, where two unidentified men broke a window and got inside. Nothing was reported stolen in that first incident, but it was only the opening act. The Baltimore Sun also covered the incidents Wednesday.
A Fast-Moving Sequence Across Two Streets
About 14 minutes after the first call, officers responded to a second break-in at a business in the 300 block of West 29th Street, where an unidentified suspect shattered the front glass door and tried, unsuccessfully, to pry open the cash register. As with the first scene, no property was reported stolen there either, per the station's report.
The third burglary came at 5:31 a.m., just blocks away at a business in the 2000 block of West Maryland Avenue. This time, an unidentified person actually made off with something: a cash register and a coin-operated machine, the only items reported stolen across all three scenes the same account notes.
Detectives Weigh Whether the Break-Ins Are Linked
Detectives are now investigating whether the three burglaries are connected, pointing to their similar timing, nearby locations and comparable methods of entry, per the same account. No suspect has been identified in any of the three incidents, and police have not said whether they believe one person or group is responsible for all of them.
Economist Anirban Basu told FOX45 that burglaries like these carry costs that extend well beyond whatever is actually stolen, from lost inventory and property damage to the ripple effect of higher insurance charges for business owners. It's a reminder that even break-ins where nothing is taken, like the two on West 29th Street, can leave owners facing repair costs for broken glass.
Part of a Broader, Still-Unresolved Pattern
Wednesday's burglaries echo other commercial break-in cases that have cropped up around the Baltimore area over the past year, though nothing in the record ties those cases to this one. FOX45 has reported that Baltimore police previously arrested 43-year-old Jerome Hill in connection with 12 commercial burglaries at at least eight businesses, with incidents dating from October 2025 through January 2026, including break-ins at 11 E. Lexington Street, 17 W. Mulberry Street and 217 E. Redwood Street.
Separately, Baltimore County police arrested three teenagers accused of targeting at least six commercial locations across the county beginning October 15, according to WMAR-2 News. Those burglaries were reported at spots including Frederick Road, Sulphur Road, Pulaski Highway, Merritt Boulevard, Holabird Avenue and Baltimore National Pike, as detailed by The Baltimore Banner.
Investigators have not released an estimate of the losses from the three break-ins or identified the businesses involved.
