Investigators say a string of break-ins in San Diego's Tierrasanta neighborhood this past week may be linked to a larger string of crimes.
Security video shows the suspects using a sledgehammer to get inside.
Despite the surveillance camera overhead, the masked intruder went to work on the safe at Roundtable Pizza on Tierrasanta Boulevard just after 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
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“He starts slamming into the safe with a sledgehammer. He was there like five or 10 minutes,” Roundtable general manager Angel Isabel said.
Isabel says he left worn out and empty handed.
“This is our fifth break-in in over two years. It is just insane that it keeps on happening,” Isabel said.
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The person behind the mask found a more promising take next door at Tutuli Mexican Eatery.
“Everything was gone. All my savings. My wife and my savings were gone," owner Alejandro Ochoa said.
Tutuli is the Ochoa family’s first business venture. They’ve been open less than three weeks. Thieves got away with thousands of dollars that Ochoa kept in the safe.
“These people don’t think about the families that are suffering,” Ochoa said.
The Tierra Santa Mexican Restaurant on Santo Road was robbed the Monday before last at about 3 a.m. The business has been robbed several times in the last few years. They have installed cameras and alarms, but still, just last week, they were burglarized once more.
Leo Valdez, an employee, told NBC 7 the burglar took cash and even got inside employee lockers.
“You expect this to be a family area, a family loving space, and then someone comes in, destroys that. And that makes me feel like, you know, who’s out there doing this at other people,” Valdez said.
Sung Choi with the neighboring restaurant Edamame Sushi said his business has also been stolen from in the past but not in the latest string of incidents.
“It’s always people masked, covered up. Car license plates, you can’t make them out. Too far away. Cameras are not clear enough,” Choi said.
Choi says he no longer leaves any cash but feels that doesn’t seem to stop anyone.
“There’s really nothing you can do. It’s unfortunate. I mean we can ramp up security. They’re gonna find a way, a time and place. If they really want to do it, they’re going to do it,” Choi said.
The San Diego Police Department is investigating these crimes and say they are likely connected to others happening countywide.
Video from Perfect Pizza in Rancho Bernardo in the early hours of Oct. 28 shows the suspect use a sledgehammer to break the window. The cash drawer was stolen. The safe had to be left behind. A hooded and masked driver picked up the accomplice. They left in a silver Infiniti.
That same morning, Todo Sushi and the Subway on Carroll Canyon Road were burglarized, possibly by the same people.
Many of these businesses are mom-and-pop operations. Owners poured in everything they must to secure a successful future.
“I was working before at different places, and my wife, to just to save money to see our dreams come true and this happens," Ochoa said.
Losses in the Tierrasanta burglaries are felt deeply but what was left behind could prove to be of great value to police. It is just a few frames of video, but for the first time a very clear picture of the intruder’s face is seen.
San Diego police detectives say they are still gathering all the video evidence. They expect to release more information about these burglaries on Wednesday.
