Police searching for suspect who used sledgehammer to break in to Panama City convenience store

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - The Panama City Police Department needs your help in locating a suspect who used a sledgehammer to open a hole in a concrete wall during the break in of a convenience store over the weekend.

In a news release, PCPD says officers were called to the VJ Food Mart on Frankford Avenue around 1 a.m. on Sunday morning in reference to a burglary. When they got there, officers found the suspect had broken into the store by demolishing the concrete cinder block exterior wall with a sledgehammer. Surveillance video shows a person using the sledgehammer to break open the wall.

Once inside, video shows the suspect taking cash and vape devices. In all, more than $3,500 in damage was done to the outside of the store and approximately $1,000 in cash and merchandise was stolen.

Anyone with information in this case is asked to call the Panama City Police Department at 850- 872-3100, or they can report tips anonymously via smartphone by downloading the “Panama City PD” Tip411 app from the iOS or Google Play stores.