Chapel Hill Police have arrested a Wake Forest man accused of a rash of area break-ins in recent months.

Corey Scott Shepherd, of 3512 Topaz Street, faces the following charges:

• 19 Counts of felony breaking and entering
• 1 Counts of felony larceny
• 20 Counts of misdemeanor damage to property

Chapel Hill investigators worked with investigators from the Carrboro, Durham, and Hillsborough Police Departments, as well as the Chatham County Sheriff's office, in an effort to make an arrest.

Shepherd was released on a $43,000 unsecured bond and his first court appearance is set for Tuesday.

Police used a surveillance video of a man to help identify a suspect.

"We left money in the register, which was obviously a mistake, and they got $200," business owner Carrie Griffin said.

Griffin is the owner of Max's Dog Wash off 15-501 in Chatham County. The business was broken into twice in two weeks. She's afraid it could happen again.

"Every morning when I come in, I peak around to see if the door is broken," Griffin said.

Owner of Magnolia House Flowers and Gifts Brad Lingerfelt also had his door smashed in and money stolen Dec. 30. He then had to board up his store until it could be replaced.

"Traffic has been down since this happened. I don't know if people see boarded up doors and think we're done? People see the doors and don't really know what happened," Lingerfelt said.

Major Gary Blankenship with the Chatham Sheriff's Department said investigators are linking these break-ins to many others because of the dates and times that they happened and the way the suspect came into the building.

"The type of break-ins are break-ins through a window or break a door with a blunt object," Blankenship said.

And Blankenship said although the public should be aware of these crimes, they should not feel threatened.

"This is not a crime of violence against a person. This guy is going in at night when he can't be seen, he doesn't want to be seen and just wants to get the money and get out," Blankenship said.

But business owners say they do feel uneasy coming to work.

"They stole our sense of security, we just don't feel safe," Lingerfelt said.

If you have any information, call the Chatham County Sheriff's Department at 919-312-9471.