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Thieves steal TVs, Wii games from Rent-A-Center stores

News Channel 8 photo by ERIC HAUSMANN

A vehicle smashed through the front entrance of the Rent-A-Center store located at Parsons Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Seffner early Friday morning.

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TBO.com

Published: April 10, 2009

Updated: 04/10/2009 01:31 pm

Authorities are looking for the thieves who rammed vehicles through the fronts of two Rent-A-Centers early this morning, making off with merchandise from both stores.

Authorities continued this morning to see if the two similar-style burglaries are connected. One occurred in Seffner; the other, a short time later, was in Tampa.

The first happened at 3:30 a.m. at the rental store at 780 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. in Seffner. It was a group effort, said Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

A silver four-door Dodge pickup backed into the front door, smashing it. Two smaller vehicles pulled into the parking lot and a group of five to seven people piled out and made off with more than a dozen wide screen television sets ranging in size from 22 inches to 62 inches, a store employee said.

A witness in the area saw the heist, Carter said.

"It all happened within a few minutes," she said.

The second Rent-A-Center, located at 2525 E. Hillsborough Ave., was struck about 90 minutes later. Four men between the ages of 20 and 25 broke drove into the front of the store, then stole a wide screen television set, several notebook computers and several Wii game systems, Tampa police Lt. Diane Hobley-Burney said.

The store has a surveillance camera and Tampa police investigators are reviewing the tape for clues.

"It's frustrating," said assistant manager Joe Wiggins, who was called out to the scene by the alarm company. He said until an inventory is completed, a list of just what was taken remained unknown.

"This has happened before at a couple of other stores," he said. It hasn't happened at his store, which rents and sells electronics, appliances and furniture, since he's been here, he said.

Stay with TBO.com for updates.

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