Car Slams Into SF Electronic Store, Steals $30K Worth Of Equipment
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Burglars left a San Francisco electronics store in shambles and made off with thousands of dollars worth of equipment Friday.
At around 4 a.m., a silver pickup drove onto the California St. sidewalk and backed into the Audio Vision store. At least one person got out and took whatever they could.
The store's owner Antonio Long estimates the thieves got away with about $30,000 of equipment.
"It's a nightmare," Long said. "They didn't steal as much as they just destroyed. I mean, the cost of repairs if going to be way higher than what they got away with."
This is one in a string of recent smash-and-grab burglaries at San Francisco's stores.
Last month, three people wearing ski masks robbed San Francisco's Wells Fargo History Museum. A week earlier, three suspects also wearing masks and driving a U-Haul-type box truck smashed into the glass front doors of the Patagonia store near San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf.
Another audio visual store was hit just two weeks ago in West Portal with thieves taking some pricey stereos.
One employee at Audio Vision thinks that may provide a clue, after a red-flag incident last week.
"We had a customer come in inquiring about the value components who did not fit the usual profile, the line of questioning was just out of the ordinary," store employee Andy Schneider said.
Police can't say if the crimes are related.
"We're looking at all of the incidents that have happened, trying to track them and see if its one group of individuals," San Francisco Police Captain Greg McEachern said.
The store does have insurance, but they don't know how long until they're back in business.
