Investigators with the Covington County Sheriff’s Department are working this week to find the person or persons responsible for stealing a gun and more than $3,000 from a convenience store in the Rose Hill Community.

Larry Sorrells, owner of Daddy Joe’s Grocery, located on the corner of Straughn School and Rose Hill roads, said he received a call from authorities at approximately 3:30 Saturday morning letting him know his store had been burglarized.

“The front door was broke out,” Sorrells said. “I’m not sure what all they got.”

What Sorrells knows is that the thieves took approximately $3,251 in cash and checks, as well as a .357 Magnum handgun, he said. He added that he believes the person, or persons, responsible for the theft must have had intimate knowledge of his store.

“It had to be someone who knows the store,” Sorrells said. “I keep the money hidden. We’ve been broken into twice before and they didn’t take the money. You’d have to know where to look for it.”

An employee at the store, who wished to remain anonymous, said the thieves knew the location had video surveillance and used spray paint to blot out the view of one of the cameras.

“Someone tried to break into another store in Babbie the same night,” the employee said. “I saw the video, but all you could see were headlights.”

Covington County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy David Anderson said no more details could be released about the burglary, pending the results of the ongoing investigation.

Anyone with any information about the crime is urged to call the sheriff’s department at 334.428.2640.