2 teens arrested after Plaza Midwood bottle shop break-in, CMPD says

CHARLOTTE — Two teenagers have been arrested in connection to a break-in and theft at a Plaza Midwood bottle shop on Tuesday, police said.

Surveillance video shows two thieves using a rock to smash their way into the shop around 2:40 a.m. at the Sip City Market & Bottle Shop along Central Avenue.

Yazan Humaideh spent part of his Monday sweeping up the shards of glass left behind.

“It’s my bread and butter. It’s the only thing I have,” he said.

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The thieves were caught on camera throwing a rock through the back door. Seconds later, they opened the door and ran in. Once inside, cameras captured them stealing $100 worth of beer and sodas from the fridge before running out.

“They don’t even feel bad doing this,” Humaideh said.

He said he wasn’t sure if he could have done anything else to prevent it.

“Unless I replace all my windows with walls, or sleep in the store, there’s no way to prevent that,” he said.

On Friday, police told Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old have been charged.

ALSO READ: 1 arrested in home break-ins possibly organized by South American crime group

Humaideh is not alone. Other nearby small businesses have been hit by recent break-ins too. Last week, Pizza Peel suffered a smash-and-grab. This past weekend, NoDa Bodega and The Artisan’s Palate were hit by thieves too -- the fourth time this year for Artisan’s Palate.

“We want to be able to make contact with folks in these businesses to hopefully harden those businesses as a target, or as a potential target,” CMPD Lt. Kevin Pietrus said Friday. “We want to kind of take away every opportunity that we possibly can, and we’ve also stepped up patrols over nights in those overnight hours in those areas to try to crack down on this.”

Police said they do not think the two teens charged in the Sip City break-in are connected to any of the other break-ins in the area, but they are investigating to see if the others are connected to each other.

“For every business, the end of the month and beginning of the month is the hardest. You’re paying all your bills, so now add more bills,” Humaideh said. “Add replacing product -- it’s not fun.”

Sip City opened in May. Humaideh said it will likely cost about $700 to replace the door.

The shop still held a Halloween party Tuesday night, and Humaideh said the biggest way to help was to go and support your local businesses.

(WATCH BELOW: Belmont homeowner warning others after break in)