The jewelry thief that struck Honeycutt Jewelers in Southern Pines Friday used brawn rather than brains to clean out the store's display cases.

Shortly after 5:30 a.m., the thief, or thieves, stood in front of the corner shop on Northwest Broad Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and kicked in the door.

When Southern Pines police arrived a few minutes later, the thief was gone. Investigators found that he or she had knocked out the backs of several display cases and made off with assorted pieces of jewelry.

"Police were here in two to four minutes," said owner Diane Helms. "They came right away."

Helms said that she and her employees remove much of the jewelry from the display cases when the store is closed, but that the thief did make off with some items.