Thieves caught on camera cutting hole to break into central Fresno liquor store

Thursday, March 5, 2020
Thieves caught on camera cutting hole to break into central Fresno liquor store
Store employees say the thieves carved out a hole in the back of the building, using the outside dumpsters to keep them out of sight.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Cameras caught the thieves in action, one after another crawling through a hole they cut in a wall at a central Fresno liquor store.

"They must be that desperate," says employee Daya Perez. "Like, why would you come and do that?"

Fresno police were called to the MGA liquor for a reported burglary.

Store employees say the thieves carved out a hole in the back of the building, using the outside dumpsters to keep them out of sight.

Once inside the shop, they say the crooks took some liquor, several packs of cigarettes, and money, totaling about $1,000.

"They were in and out within less than 5 minutes," Perez said. "By the time we got the notification for the alarm, it was all done."

Perez says the brazen break-in is shocking and disappointing.

"We do our best to serve the customers and to take this loss for my boss," Perez said. "It shouldn't be happening."

Investigators don't have leads yet but are working to identify the thieves in the video.

"It was very brazen for somebody to do this," says Fresno Police Sgt. Jeff La Blue. "We'd have to evaluate them for something out of the norm, like chemical dependency."

Store employees say that after the break-in, they now plan to enhance their security at the shop.

"Extra cameras and extra warnings so we know when things happen," Perez said.

The hole is being patched up, and Perez is just thankful neither she or her coworkers were working at the time of the crime.

Police say the burglars simply breaking in makes this case a felony.

They're asking anyone with information of the two suspects to call the Fresno Police Department