Phillip Phillips -- Crooks Smash In Pawn Shop, Steal Guns

More bad news for "American Idol" champ Phillip Phillips -- his family's Georgia pawn shop was burglarized last night after someone used a backhoe to smash open the back door.

Sources connected to the investigation tell us ... the bad guy (or guys) took more than $4,000 worth of merchandise ... including hand guns, flat screen TVs, antique coins, necklaces, rings and the ENTIRE CASH REGISTER.

We're told the register only had $110 inside at the time.

Law enforcement believes the power and phone lines to the store were cut before the burglary and the backhoe (a piece of heavy machinery used in construction) was hotwired and stolen from a nearby job site.

We're told roughly 25 cop cars responded to the scene to hunt for the perps -- but so far, no arrests have been made.