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Burglars Use U-Haul To Break Into Best Buy

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County sheriff's investigators are looking for the people who staged a daring break-in at a Best Buy on South Orange Blossom Trail, across from the Florida Mall ( see map ) and stole about $20,000 worth of electronics. They used a U-Haul truck to crash their way into the store.

Investigators said three men wearing hooded sweatshirts, crashed their way into the store through the doors just after midnight Friday, with a U-Haul truck they had stolen 20 minutes earlier down the street.

The last employee at the Best Buy had left just about 30 minutes before the break in. They got $20,000 worth of iPods and laptops in three minutes.

AT THE SCENE: Thieves Smash And Grab At Orlando Best Buy

The store manager said they obviously knew what they were doing. The store video, which may be released Friday, shows the three men trying to use a display cart to make off with their loot. But the iPods were slipping through the openings and the wheels weren't cooperating. So then they just carried out whatever they could, using their hands and their sweatshirts.

"It's a sign of the times at this point. People are doing whatever they can to either pay bills or put food on the table. So sign of the economy," Best Buy manager Dave St. Cyr said.

The burglars left the U-Haul at the scene. It's been towed away and the doors have been boarded up.

Police dogs tracked the burglars' scent from a cell phone they left behind during the theft.

Investigators said the men may have had a getaway vehicle, but investigators haven't released any details about that possibility.

Orange County investigators are working with other law enforcement agencies around the state to find the men. It's believed the burglars who hit this store may be the same people who broke into a Best Buy in Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg just a few days ago.

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