Burglars thrash five family-owned businesses in Santa Clarita

Six family-owned businesses in Santa Clarita are left strapped for cash after burglars hit their beloved shops on Wednesday. 

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, four restaurants and two other businesses were hit during the overnight burglaries. Employees called deputies when they arrived to work on Wednesday morning. 

While the thieves failed to bankrupt the businesses by rifling through their stock, the repair costs have forced the owners to shut down.

"Being a mom-and-pop restaurant, every day is a struggle," said Waffle Love owner Boyd Bell. 

Instead of serving customers, Bell sent his staff home on Thursday morning so he could clean up the mess left behind by the early morning break-in. 

All of the businesses were in the same area with the Pizza Di Marco just less than a mile away. 

"There was glass shattered in the front of the place," said owner Danna Villaseza. "We were cleaning for hours."

Villaseza said the thieves took an envelope filled with cash earmarked for bills. 

"People just think 'Oh it's just $100,'" said Bell. "But there's so many more levels to a simple act like this."

Former federal prosecutor Scott Tenley said smash-and-grab robberies like this are high reward and low risk. 

"If you are caught you're probably going to spend a night in jail," said Tenley. "This is something that individuals now know 'Hey this is where we can get a quick hit, move on and likely not face any consequences."

Deputies are looking into whether or not the string of burglaries are all connected and if the same people are involved.