A luxury clothing store was raided by a group of thieves, using the back of a pickup truck to smash metal shutters.
Surveillance camera footage shows the vehicle reversed multiple times at the upscale Magnolia Park clothing store in Burbank, California.
The store owner says about $70,000 worth of items were stolen during the raid that took place around 1:30 a.m. Thursday.
Despite the store having security measures in place, including a metal shutter and a concrete outdoor seating area specifically designed to prevent such occurrences, the crooks were able to break through.
The criminals were persistent in their efforts and despite having to enter the premises several times, they eventually succeeded.
At least 10 felons were caught on video crashing a stolen pickup truck into the front of a luxury store in Burbank around 1:30 a.m.
Owner, Miki Guerra urges people to buy something from the website so they can start recovering from such a loss.
During the day, the shop was seen being patched up with wooden planks nailed in place, while the owner ponders what to do next.
Although there is no talk of closing the store, owner Miki Guerra is urging people to buy something from the store. website so that they can start recovering from such a loss. He says it will take several days to resolve everything.
Guerra was woken up at home after motion sensors detected a break-in.
“I was informed by ADT at 1:40 about a motion censor. I verified from home through cameras that we were indeed robbed. And then permission to send Burbank police to the scene. They arrived on the scene a few minutes after the suspects left,” Guerra told DailyMail.com
“I arrived around 1:50 a.m. to talk to BPD and review footage that confirmed up to six cars were involved, including the pickup truck used to reverse into the front of the glass shop, and our scissor gate down to bend that we installed approximately. forty years ago that we were sure that we could prevent any kind of burglary.
“Once they managed to bend the gate enough. There were about ten suspects who went into the store twice to grab whatever clothes and accessories they could get their hands on. From break-in to departure it was about four minutes in total.
“We sell premium clothing and footwear in the streetwear category, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if we were targeted based on average value per product. The next thing for us is to use this moment to make ourselves better. Motivated and grateful that we have a strong team to continue.’
“It seems like they had an idea of what they wanted to get. They’ve packed a lot of clothes and we’ve got a lot of premium items, things that are normally sold out at retailers,” Guerra told KTLA.
“It was honestly impressive that they pulled it off, especially given the size of their group.”
Surveillance camera footage shows up to 10 hooded robbers storming into the store and running out with everything they could carry. Some could be seen carrying bags and boxes full of loot. The entire raid was over in about five minutes and the suspects fled in different vehicles.
The store had a metal shutter and a concrete bench shunted out of the way
The pickup driver tried several times before crashing through the front facade
Once inside, the hooded suspects entered the store and seized $70,000 worth of merchandise, including hoodies and hats
The destroyed interior of the store can be seen after Thursday morning’s raid
It was later discovered that the pickup truck had been stolen hours earlier and was later found abandoned nearby.
“Agents searched the case and the surrounding area, but did not find the suspects. However, officers did find the truck used to ram the front company security door parked on the street near the company. Further investigation revealed that the truck had been reported stolen,” the Burbank Police Department revealed in a statement.
Police have not released any photos of the raid and are appealing for eyewitnesses to come forward.
The nighttime activity took place when there were few people or drivers on the streets.
Police believe the break is likely related to another incident that happened Wednesday morning.
At around 3:30 a.m., security cameras from a video production house, F22 Studios, spotted two dozen masked men attempting to break into the building.
On that occasion, the suspects tried to break open the entrance to a podium part of the building with crowbars.
The then-torn wall insulation before breaking into the building, but the group fled after an alarm went off.