LA County wig shop owner fed up as string of burglaries targeting business continues
A Los Angeles County business owner is demanding help from local leaders as she's been subject to multiple burglaries in recent months, leaving her at risk of closing down for good.
Margarita Torres says that her San Gabriel-based wig store, Terry's Wigs, has been hit by thieves 10 times since 2020. She says most of her clients suffer from diseases that cause hair loss or cancer.
"I like to help them personally," Torres said. "Especially when they're going through chemo, they need more comfort."
She says that no matter what they've tried, adding new surveillance cameras or adding security protocol, nothing has worked.
"I'm not protected. I feel that we're not protected," Torres said.
Thursday was the latest instance that the wig store has been targeted, when surveillance video footage caught the moments a woman took a wig and left the store. She says it was worth hundreds of dollars.
"You feel like your hands are tied, and I'm pretty sure that the police feel the same way," Torres said, referring to the California law that makes a theft of under $950 a misdemeanor crime.
The repeated petty theft is what has her business struggling to make ends meet. In December 2024, Torres also spoke with CBS News Los Angeles about a burglary that saw two thieves use crowbars to smash the windows of her store before they took off with thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise.
"First thing comes to my mind, we're closing down," Torres said. "I cannot put up with this anymore."
At the time, she noted her faith in newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who vowed to crack down on retail crime. He left a sign at her business, designating it a "protected business," meaning that thefts could be prosecuted by the retail theft task force.
She said that even though more agents have been assigned to her case, the anonymity involved with these crimes make them difficult to solve.
The DA's office shared a statement on the repeated retail burglaries.
"Holding serial retail thieves accountable is a top priority for our office. We recognize the devastating effects of retail theft on small business owners, employees, customers and entire communities," the statement said, in part.
They said that since Proposition 36 went into effect in Dec. 2024, more than 1,900 theft cases have been filed against repeat offenders and thousands more against non-recidivists and perpetrators of robberies.
"Our substantial case filings, along with our Retail Theft Task Force stickers, aim to deter criminals with a warning: Prosecutors and law enforcement are working in lockstep to hold retail thieves accountable to the full extent of the law," the statement said.
