A brazen break-in at a Fresno shoe store came to nothing as the store owner said he was one step ahead of the people trying to rob his store.
A locally owned Drip-on-Drip was boarded up and shut down on Monday after what was described as a “shocking” break-in in the early hours of the morning.
“To see the building you work on almost every day destroyed… it’s just damage. It’s shocking,” said owner Roman Gonzalez.
Security camera footage shows two sedans pulling up to the store shortly after 3 a.m., and one of them plows into the front of the store.
Video footage shows several people getting out of both cars and running inside. They are then seen looking around in confusion and leaving the store about 30 seconds later.
“If they had looked through the window, it would have saved them time and even energy trying to break in,” Gonzalez said. “They would have noticed that there was nothing on the floor here to take with them.”
Gonzalez was one step ahead of the criminals. Last year, thieves broke into his previous location in River Park and took most of his inventory. Since that experience, he sweeps the floors every night and leaves the cash register open next to the window to show there is nothing inside.
The only thing he leaves behind at night is the wall of his right shoe.
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“The shoes have no value once you have them, which means you can’t buy left-foot shoes online, which means you can’t use the item or resell it. It makes no sense at all,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said the thieves did make off with a loose backpack and two pairs of right shoes. He said he’s grateful his plan worked and plans to open as usual Tuesday.
“Let’s hope they get caught and learn from this situation,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said River Park security was on the scene as soon as the alarm went off. The walls were boarded up before Gonzalez arrived at 6 a.m., but Gonzalez praised their quick response and said he feels safe continuing to do business there.
A River Park spokesperson told Yourcentralvalley.com that the park will meet on Monday to discuss future safety measures and will be adding more night security staff.
Gonzalez said he would also consider installing traffic safety poles in front of the store to prevent cars from driving onto the sidewalk.
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