Police investigate burglaries in northwest Conn.

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - Police are looking for a possible connection to a rash of smash-and-grab burglaries in northwestern Connecticut.

The Republican-American of Waterbury reports that burglars using similar techniques have struck at least four times since Tuesday in Torrington, Harwinton and Litchfield.

The stolen items have included cigarettes, a safe and a gas-powered hedge trimmer.

Police say whoever broke into a hardware store and a convenience store before dawn Wednesday in Harwinton may also be responsible for a similar break-in at a Litchfield feed store.

State Trooper Bill Arbour said the timing of the early-morning crimes is one clue they may be connected.

Arbour said a clerk at a convenience store that was hit saw a man dressed in black behind the counter when she arrived, and he fled when she called police.