Thieves take $11,000 in equipment from family-owned Rio Linda locksmith business
A Rio Linda business has been left without the tools of its trade.
Amanda Shane, owner of The Key Shop and More, said that late Saturday night, one or more thieves tore off the metal security bars that cover the shop's window and took off with two specialized cutting machines they use to make sets of keys.
"They didn't come into the shop," she said. "They just grabbed what they could from the window and left."
It's a huge economic loss for this family-owned locksmith business.
"We're small," Shane said. "It's me and my husband that do this with our kids, so it's pretty hard, especially around Christmas."
The two machines cost around $11,000 and are used to make spare keys for cars and home doors. Shane said the equipment won't even work because the crooks left behind the programming tools.
"You need other equipment to go with them, so they can't just go make up a random key for someone's house or someone's car," she said.
Shane said it's not the first time thieves have targeted businesses at this Rio Linda shopping center.
"The coffee shop has been broken into in the same parking lot, the taqueria, the diner over there got broken into, so it's just common around here, unfortunately," she said.
They have a security camera, but it was on the other side of the building and didn't capture the crime. There's currently no suspect description.
"We filed a sheriff's report right after it happened," Shane said. "They came out. They did their investigation. They couldn't take fingerprints because it was all wet inside from it raining."
She said their insurance doesn't cover replacing the expensive equipment, so friends have set up an online fundraiser and some community members have even stopped by to try and help.
"We've had a couple of customers just come in and give us donations," Shane said. "It helps a lot."
Shane said they have temporarily pulled an older machine out of storage so they can still make some keys, and they're trying to get security video from other nearby businesses to see if it captured images of the suspects.