Cops: Golf club and ice cream shop robberies may be related

EAST HADDAM, Conn. (WTNH) -- Police in East Haddam say someone made off with some cash from the Fox Hop Yard Golf Club; the crime may be tied to another burglary at an ice cream shop.

Surveillance photos show two men pulling up in a red king cab pickup truck. They are apparently looking to cash in on other people's profits over Labor Day weekend. Their first stop was at the Fox Hopyard Golf Course in East Haddam, where they swiped the safe at the On The Rocks restaurant and got away with about $5,000.

"They picked it up and took it with them," said Dietrich Schoenamann, golfer.

"So it wasn't too big," asked News 8's Tina Detelj.

"No. I think the next one they get is going to be bigger," said Schoenamann.

The thieves didn't go unnoticed. Their truck and their masked images were caught on tape. Schoenemann hopes they get caught.

"It's a shame that those kinds of things happen and a lot of people blame it on the economy," he said, "a thief is a thief."

After hitting the golf course police believe the thieves headed straight to Salem Valley Farms Ice Cream shop where they tried to swipe the shop's holiday profits.

However, those owners were ready for them. After losing $20,000 during a Memorial Day 2010 heist when their safe was stolen, they made changes, including a huge gun safe and surveillance cameras.

"That guy's not as recognizable, but I think that if anyone knows this fellow that he's...even with the mask you're gonna be able to pick him out because he has pretty distinctive eyes and lips," said Jane Scacciaferro.

Owners of both places, which are just 3.5 miles apart, hope someone can identify the men or their truck.