Multiple suspects responsible for burglarizing a pharmacy early Tuesday morning are being sought by authorities.
Preliminary details surrounding the incident were not immediately available from officials; however, video surveillance footage obtained by KTLA indicates the burglary took place in the 9200 block of Whittier Boulevard, located near the border of Pico-Rivera and Whittier, just after 2:20 a.m.
The surveillance shows the suspects approach the store in a vehicle before one of them cuts a hole through the roll-up door that is supposed to block anyone from accessing the front door. The suspect is also seen forcefully bashing the door after cutting the hole and entering shortly thereafter.
Upon gaining access to the inside, money and narcotics was said to have been taken. While the exact amount of each is not known, what is known is that, based on the surveillance footage, the perpetrators arrived and left within a few minutes.
According to the store’s owner, who did not want to be identified, this is the fifth time his business has been hit by burglars this year. The family-run business has been at the location for 15 years.
Due to the repeated break-ins, the owner says he’s been throwing money “down the drain” to try and prevent them from occurring, but to no avail. He also lamented that it’s not the lost products he’s most concerned about – it’s the repeated repair costs.
“We’ve already gotten a quote for the roll-up door for eight to nine thousand dollars, and since it’s an emergency, they are going to charge us a rush fee,” the store owner told KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw off camera. “I have to get a company to fix the boarded-up windows – they are pretty pricey.”
“I don’t think these people understand that, by them breaking in, we suffer too,” he continued. “It’s just so much money we are throwing down the drain trying to keep them out.”
Moving the store is out of the question, as in the decade-and-a-half since it opened, a steady customer base has formed.
“We’ve established a [loving] community here in the neighborhood, so if we move, we have to basically re-advertise and try to get everyone to come to our pharmacy, which we already have established here,” he said. “Moving is kind of the last option, and we don’t plan on moving because we service this neighborhood…we love the people here and people love us.”
When it comes to combating the trend of break-ins in the area – the owner claims other businesses in the area have been hit recently – it may come down to both the community coming together and an increase in patrols.
“This is just a lesson to everybody that owns businesses…it’s not just pharmacies,” the store owner said. “I think it’s just trying to come together as a community…and the local law enforcement agencies have to do their due diligence in helping a lot of the businesses here.”
“As of now, our businesses keep getting broken into, and we are starting to grow frustrated,” he added.
The pharmacy owner further elaborated that detectives have still yet to resolve the first break-in that occurred this year back in March. He also believes the same people are responsible for each of the burglaries.
The post Bold early-morning pharmacy burglary caught on camera appeared first on KTLA.
