The Daily Populous Thursday February 5th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by charlotteobserver.com and submitted by WeirdAFNewsPodcast

North Carolina Man breaks into Little Caesars, starts making and selling pizzas, NC police say

A former employee of Little Caesars in Kinston, NC, broke in when the shop was closed and started making and selling pizzas, police say. Street View image from April 2024. © 2026 Google

A North Carolina man is facing multiple felony charges after he broke into a Little Caesars after closing time and started making and selling pizzas, according to police.

It happened Sunday, the day after a massive snow storm hit the state, and the suspect kept all the money for himself, the Kinston Police Department said in a Feb. 2 news release.

An arrest was made after the suspect tried to break into the shop a second time, police said.

“The Kinston Police Department ... responded to Little Caesars in reference to a breaking and entering. Upon arrival, officers were advised that 41-year-old Jonathon Hackett, a former employee, had unlawfully entered the business on two separate occasions,” police said.

“During the first incident, Hackett entered the business, prepared pizzas, sold them to customers, and kept the proceeds for himself. During the second incident, Hackett again broke into the business while it was occupied by employees. Employees attempted to prevent Hackett from entering, which resulted in a physical altercation.”

Hackett was injured during the brawl and taken to a hospital for treatment, police said. He was arrested after being released, officials said.

Felony obtaining property by false pretenses

Felony larceny after breaking and entering

Investigators did not report how many pizzas the suspect made and sold to unaware customers.

Little Caesars is a national chain of pizza shops with locations in all 50 states.

Kinston is about an 80-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh. The community got as much as 14 inches of snow on Saturday, the National Weather Service says.

zyzzogeton on February 4th, 2026 at 21:50 UTC »

"Motherfucker, that's called a job"

sendhelp on February 4th, 2026 at 20:34 UTC »

Reminds me of that story about the autistic guy who basically took a bus but drove it on the exact route and did a good job of it lol

ManamiVixen on February 4th, 2026 at 19:42 UTC »

"If they won't hire me, I'll just hire myself!"