For the second time in a week, a San Bernardino County restaurant was broken into by a group of thieves who escaped with over $30,000 in cash.
Surveillance video captured the theft at two locations of Brandon’s Diner — the Rancho Cucamonga location on Sept. 6 and the Upland location on Sept. 9.
On Wednesday, four thieves hit the Rancho Cucamonga restaurant on the 8600 block of Baseline Road around 4:40 a.m. They smashed their way inside and ripped out the safe using a drill, the owners said. They escaped with $30,000 in cash.
The break-in left a ton of damage for the owners.
“They made a mess, they smashed the doors,” said employee Sandra Miradan. “In the back of the store, they broke the doors, they took the safe and they tried to open the [employee] lockers with a metal bar.”
The owners believe the same group of thieves also targeted their Upland restaurant on Saturday. In both instances, security video showed the suspects leaving the scene in the same BMW sedan.
During the Upland burglary on Saturday, police responded to a reported break-in around 3:40 a.m.
Arriving officers spotted the five suspects and attempted to pull them over but they refused, leading officers on a pursuit. The suspects drove at high speeds and Upland police eventually lost them in Pomona.
The safe was removed once again, but before the thieves could place it inside their car, the police arrived and they ditched the safe in the parking lot.
The thieves escaped with around $350 from the cash register that day.
Around $2,000 in damages were reported after the suspects smashed a window, and damaged the front and office doors, police said.
The owners said they run nine diners and the Rancho Cucamonga has been broken into several times already. They have boarded up their windows and are awaiting replacements soon. They’re hoping the public can help identify the suspects before they strike again.
“When people do this, it hurts,” Miradan said. “We work very hard. It’s sad to see this happen in this nice, beautiful area in Rancho.”
Full video of the break-ins can be seen in the video player above.