Livingston businesses hit in crime spree

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police in the North Valley are searching for a man who went on a crime spree. Surveillance cameras caught him breaking into two Livingston businesses and the same person could be linked to two other break-ins in Modesto.

A restaurant in Livingston is trying to catch a thief the old fashioned way -- with a wanted poster and four clear pictures of a thief.

Sergeant John Ramirez said, "All the officers have looked at the picture, he looks similar but we're still working on leads."

Three of the images were captured at the Foster Farms Corner Caf. Investigators say the man broke in through the back door, he took money from a safe and three days later, he hit Mountain Mike's Pizza with an accomplice, just a few blocks away.

"It takes minutes, they weren't in there long," Ramirez added.

The wanted poster has a 4th image of what appears to be the same person in different clothes. It's actually from a separate break-in, at the La Morenita restaurant in Modesto. The owner, Gloria Smallwood posted surveillance video of it on Facebook.

"The thief being, possibly, looks very similar to the person who broke into our restaurant," Smallwood said, "Also, In-Shape in Modesto, they had been burglarized and they said, that's the same guy."

All of the burglaries happened just days apart and the thief took off with cash every time. If it is the same person, his face and tattoos are on camera. The video has been viewed thousands of times and Smallwood is hoping more people will share it.

Smallwood said, "Not only my business is going to benefit from this but all these other businesses that seemingly were burglarized in just a weekend, you know, maybe will all get justice served."

Investigators are looking at surveillance video from all of the crimes. If you recognize the thief or have any information, you should call police.