Surveillance video shows burglar break into Boston restaurant, smash cash registers
Boston Police are investigating break-ins at two restaurants in the West Fens neighborhood early Sunday morning. One of them was recorded on video.
It happened around 4 a.m. at Rod Thai Family Taste and Viva Burrito on Peterboro Street. Police received the reports of the robberies around 8:30 a.m.
Surveillance video showed the burglar breaking into Viva Burrito. The suspect was seen throwing something through the front glass door of the Mexican restaurant before ducking inside.
Once inside, they grabbed the cash register and began smashing it on the ground repeatedly until it broke open. An undisclosed amount of money was taken from both businesses, according to police.
Boston Police are still investigating the break-ins. There have been no arrests.
"I was shocked"
Al Tokhi, the owner of Viva Burrito, is currently on vacation when he learned of the break-in. Tokhi told WBZ-TV in a phone interview that he just opened the location in April.
"We were not expecting this kind of thing to happen. But it happened," Tokhi said.
Police say no similar incidents have been reported in the area. They have not confirmed exactly how much money was stolen, but both restaurant owners estimate that thousands of dollars were lost.
"The register, a couple thousand, plus we've got to pay for the glass door, were talking about $3,500 or $4,000 maybe," Tokhi said.
Panda Limsawat's family owns Rod Thai Family Taste. When he arrived at work, he saw the front door had been shattered.
"I was shocked," he said. "They took the money. Just the money. And it's like they threw the register to the floor."
Boston restaurants burglarized
Both Rod Thai Family Taste and Viva Burrito were open and serving customers on Sunday.
"I never think about it that it was going to happen to us," Limsawat said. But now that it has, he has one message for the suspect:
"It's not good to do this or steal anyone's money," he said.
No other information is available at this point in the investigation.
A woman named Judith who lives in the area said she was surprised to learn about the break-ins.
"It's a cute little street with a lot of small businesses and to have this happen is really sad for our neighborhood," she said. "Nearby is the Fens which a lot of people walk in. So this is really disappointing news."
