Five men, including three brothers, have been charged with burglarizing about 40 businesses in four counties, including Lancaster, during an 11-month crime spree, state police said.

Police said Monday that the men targeted pizza shops, restaurants and other businesses that typically kept "start-up" money in their cash registers. Police said the five netted a total of about $21,400.

The suspected burglars are Edward Louis Heinzman, 42, charged with 39 burglaries; John David Heinzman, 37, charged with 37 burglaries; Chester Franklin Heinzman, 41, charged with 16 burglaries; Steven Michael Stauffer, 26, charged with 20 burglaries; and Steven Matthew Laird, 20, charged with six burglaries.

The Heinzman brothers are from Parkesburg; Stauffer and Laird are Coatesville residents.

The burglaries occurred in Lancaster, Chester, Montgomery and Delaware counties. Charges were filed by state police and West Whiteland Township police.

Police said the arrests came after an investigation that began in January when several state and local police agencies met to discuss a recent increase in the area's commercial business burglaries.

As a result of that meeting, along with additional investigation, police were able to identify the five suspects.

Four of the men have been incarcerated since May on various unrelated charges, police said. John Heinzman, who was recently released from prison, was arrested at his residence on Dec. 15.

Police said the suspects would burglarize businesses overnight, gaining entry by prying open doors or breaking windows, and steal any money they could find. If they were successful, they would often burglarize the same business at a later date, police said.

Preliminary hearings for the five men are pending.

E-mail: jtodd@lnpnews.com