Eight California thieves target small businesses with ATMs
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - A group of at least eight thieves target small businesses in Northridge with ATMs.
The owners say they got away with tens of thousands of dollars in cash and goods.
It’s not what Catalina Palomino wanted to find when she got back from vacation. Her South American grocery store and restaurant in Northridge ransacked by eight thieves.
“It’s like the movies. They use the mask. White masks, white gloves and everything is black," Palomino described.
Pisco Sour Market robbery
Security video shows eight thieves in four cars drive up into a strip mall off Tampa Avenue just before 4:00am Thursday.
They don their masks and make a B-line toward Pisco Sour Market.
After they smashed their way into the front glass window, Palomino says they took at least $20,000 in cash from the ATM and registers, goods, and lotto tickets. Just watching how quick and precise their actions were, Palomino says she wouldn’t be surprised if the thieves had been here before.
“The regular customers know where everything is. For example, that what is that where the sodas, money transfers, each area. They know everything," Palomino explained.
Barbershop robbery
But the thieves weren’t done. As they were leaving the strip mall, one of them started peeking into windows and found an ATM inside a barbershop.
Their security video shows one of the men smashing the lower part of the door, and seven others follow, crawling inside. Within four minutes, they broke into the ATM, and stole thousands of dollars worth of clippers and tools.
Both owners say they began their small businesses just few years ago. They somehow survived the pandemic, but this loss is devastating. They’re both planning to improve their security systems to protect themselves in the future. In the meantime, they say all they can do is move forward.
“I am smiling because I tend to be strong. So if I feel sad, my family will be sad for me. I want to keep my store. I want to keep my restaurant. I want to keep my life so I need to be strong," Palomino remarked.
