A thief broke into a Korean American-owned restaurant that was closed for business late at night and used a rock and a pickaxe to break the window. However, the owner’s response prevented major damage.
As the year-end holidays approach, the number of smash-and-grab robberies across the state is rising, and business owners are advised to be on their guard.
According to LAPD, the theft occurred at Corner Grille Korean Fusion restaurant in Woodland Hills around 1:10 a.m. on December 2. The restaurant believes that the criminal waited until the owner couple left work to break in.
“I came to the restaurant around 9 p.m. on December 1, which is the restaurant’s regular closing day, to prepare for business,” said the business owner surnamed Lee. ”I had a lot to do that day, so I worked past midnight until 1 a.m.” After finishing the preparations for the business, the couple left the store at around 1:05 a.m. and headed home. The incident occurred about five minutes after they left the store. An intrusion alarm was sent to Lee’s cell phone.
Lee said, “The alarm went off right after I left the restaurant,” and, “I think the suspect waited until my husband and I left work to commit the crime.”
The surveillance camera captured the suspect throwing a stone-like object through the restaurant’s glass window. Lee said, “It was thrown so hard that it broke the tempered glass.”
After that, the suspect broke into the restaurant by using a tool similar to a pickaxe. The intrusion was not prevented, but fortunately, the damage was not significant.
“The burglar broke in with difficulty, but apart from taking the $10 in the restaurant’s cash register and breaking the restaurant’s glass window, there was no other damage in the restaurant,” said Lee.
Lee explained that she had purposely left a key in the cash register to prepare for crimes like this one. She said, “In the 33 years I’ve been in business, my businesses were robbed three or four times, and the way to minimize the damage is to put only $10 to $20 in the cash register and leave the key inserted.”
“If the key is not inserted into the cash register, the criminal may break the device to force it open or damage the restaurant’s PC,” said Lee, adding, ”Sometimes, the cost of restoring the damage is more than the stolen cash.”
Lee pointed out the lack of responsiveness from the police and security companies. “My husband and the security company arrived at the restaurant around the same time,” she said. ”He said the security company employee who responded to the alarm missed the intruder right in front of him.” She added, “The police who were dispatched to the scene also arrived late.”
Many are becoming victims of crimes such as theft and fraud as the year ends. Last month, a copper wire theft occurred near South Ardmore Avenue and Harvard Boulevard in Koreatown, causing residents to experience inconvenience as streetlights were turned off overnight.
In the Stevenson Ranch neighborhood, where many Korean Americans live, there have been drone-related burglaries of vacant houses, and crimes in which criminals impersonate landlords and intercept parcels in the middle of delivery have also been on the rise.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM, HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
