Nacho's Tire Shop in Merced is warning others about a burglar

MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Merced business owner is warning others about a burglar who grabbed cash right out of the register.

Employees at Nacho's Tire Shop were almost done with a long day of work when a burglar stole all of their earnings Saturday evening. Two different surveillance cameras captured him sneaking into the office while the staff was helping customers outside.

Nacho Garcia said, "They were working on a car, and they went back to take off some tires, and he hid behind a van, and that's when he went in when he found out that they were back here."

Owner Nacho Garcia says the thief somehow knew which button to push to quickly open the register, and he got away with more than $2,000. It's a big loss for this small shop.

Manuel Garcia added, "It was messed up because we work so hard, seven to seven, and just somebody walked right in and took our money."

The owner is now making changes to keep this type of crime from happening again, and he's offering a $500 reward for information that leads to the suspect's arrest and conviction. The staff also wants to warn other business to be aware.

Manuel explained, "We know we're not going to get that money back probably, but the main thing is we don't want him to be doing it somewhere else, in other places where they work hard like we do."

Police say they have not seen a pattern at this point, but there is an open and active investigation.