Caught on video: burglars smash their way into 2 Valley businesses
The Los Angeles Police Department was asking for the public's help in finding a band of burglars that smashed their way into businesses near Reseda Boulevard and Vanowen Street early Thursday morning.
The entire incident was captured on security video.
"First thing I noticed was the glass everywhere, the front door was completely shattered," Bree Miller, who owns Bree's Cakes, a bakery on Reseda Boulevard, told CBSLA.
Her shop was ransacked and everything of value was taken.
"It was torn up. It's still torn up and we're figuring out where things go. Tables were flipped, our register was completely out of the socket, just drawers dumped everywhere," Miller said.
The break-in happened at around 1:30 a.m.. A white car pulled up, four people got out and shattered a window. Then, a second shop was hit. All of it happened in less than four minutes.
"They got away with a few hundred dollars in cash, my nice camera I use to take all the pictures our desserts, but more importantly, a violation of my place, which just sucks," the baker said.
The first restaurant hit was Riche's Hot Chicken, which just opened a few months ago.
"Our sweat and tears have been invested into this spot," said owner Dennis Michel.
The damage to his restaurant was similar, but now he said he's worried this is just the beginning.
"I don't know if it has to do with the area or maybe there's just a lot of despair on the streets," he told CBSLA.
Next door, at Bree's Bakery, the cleanup was expected to take a couple of days, robbing the family of even more money.
"We're a small, family business, so this may not seem like a lot to somebody, like, 'Oh, they broke your door,' but that's a huge setback for us. We're still recovering from the pandemic, so any little setback like this is really big," Miller explained.
As Miller continued to clean up, she said she hopes someone helps find the burglars before anyone gets hit.
"I just feel like the world these days is really cruel," she said. "I don't know what brought us to where we are right now, but it sucks."
Both businesses were closed Thursday, but Bree's Cakes will be back open by Saturday.
Police encourage anyone who might recognize the vehicle or anyone in the security video to contact LAPD.
