Accused thief faces 26 charges following a series of business smash and grab break-ins

INDIANAPOLIS — An accused thief is facing 26 criminal charges following a series of smash-and-grab break-ins at numerous businesses around Indy’s near west side.

Following the series of business break-ins, police tracked the suspect down to an apartment complex on the northwest side where he allegedly broke through a wall and got into a neighbor’s attic to try and escape.

Luckily, he didn’t get far and his arrest gives some peace of mind to his victims.

“He was damaging doors and windows which cost a lot of money to get it fixed,” said business owner Ramandeep Singh.

Smashing the front glass window and damaging some furniture while ripping open the cash drawer, the suspect was seen in surveillance pictures breaking into a Total Wireless store on West Washington Street multiple times this year.

In addition to Singh’s business, the same suspect also repeatedly smashed his way into an adjacent T-Mobile. But, the crime spree didn’t stop with those two cell phone stores.

Just a few miles away, at a Dairy Queen on West Morris Street, cameras caught the thief breaking in and stealing money from the register on March 16.

The same night, he reportedly scaled the fence and broke into a Mexican restaurant nearby.

In addition, police believe the suspect broke into the offices of an apartment complex on North Holmes Street on March 12 and damaged the door of a Westside Loan Company during an attempted break-in that same night.

Romeo Hill, 29, is now accused of all those crimes, as well as a few more related to his attempted escape, during which he allegedly stole his neighbor’s clothes to try and go unrecognized by police.

“Definitely it’s a relief he got caught.  We were stressed every time getting calls after hours, it was (in) the back of my mind that we got robbed again or he’d done some damage, because it kept happening,” said Singh.

“Here, we had detectives work diligently locating the individual and making the community safer,” said IMPD officer Tommy Thompson.

While court records show that no one was seriously hurt during any of the crimes, police say they remain focused on locking up repeat offenders to improve public safety.

“There’s huge financial implications for these businesses. It’s critical we help our business partners by getting these individuals off the street,” said Thompson.

“We can definitely sleep a little better now,” said Singh.

Even before the recent crime spree, the suspect did have a criminal history of burglary, theft and robbery.

Hill is now eligible for a $50,000 cash bond pending trial on the newly filed cases.