A group of thieves was caught on camera smashing their way into small businesses in San Bernardino County.
Surveillance video shows at least six suspects targeting stores at the Brookside Plaza in Redlands early Monday morning.
The brazen thefts have left local shop owners on edge as the suspects remain at large.
Around 2 a.m., the suspects are seen pulling up to the shopping plaza in two separate vehicles.
After hopping out of the vehicles, they began smashing in windows and ransacking four different businesses in just a matter of minutes.
“You see this kind of stuff on TV all the time and you never think it’s going to happen to you,” said Patty Zambrano-Alejos, owner of Redlands Alkaline Water.
Patty and her husband, Raul Alejos, were at home when they were alerted by their security company of a break-in at their shop.
Security video shows the suspects quickly dashing in and heading straight to the register. The couple believes the burglaries were carefully planned.
“The guy that came in here knew exactly where the register was,” said Patty.
Neighboring businesses also targeted in the burglary include The Jerk Grill, Ocean Pho, and The Plaza Cleaners.
“When I unlocked the door and came in, I made my way behind the counter and saw everything trashed — the POS systems broke, the registers, the boxes were thrown on the floor,” said Jammall Taylor, owner of The Jerk Grill and Wingman Redlands.
Taylor said the thieves’ destructive break-in left about $12,000 in damages.
The Redlands Police Department tells KTLA they’re investigating the burglaries, but did not have any suspect descriptions to provide.
In 2022, there were 193 burglaries reported in the city of Redlands. In 2023, 18 commercial burglaries have been reported so far.
It’s a troubling trend that continues to take a toll on local business owners.
“We are trying to survive in this economy, prices are going up, we’re trying to sustain,” said Raul Alejos.
“A lot of times, these individuals, they don’t have the proper guidance and that’s the biggest thing, it’s the community man,” said Taylor. “If we stepped up and showed these young people that there is a better way. It doesn’t have to be done this way.”
