OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- The holiday spirit for one Oakland family upended the morning after Thanksgiving when they were alerted their small business was burglarized. The East Oakland theft will likely cost the family more than $15,000.
Lorena Dominguez is leaning on the warmth she shared with family and friends on Thanksgiving to get her through the emotional stress triggered by the costly break-in to her business the morning after the holiday.
"It's hard. You just... you just keep. You're just resilient. Like, you're there. You own yourself to your clients," said Dominguez.
Security images taken at around 3 a.m. Friday from footage Dominguez and her husband Luis have turned over to the Oakland Police Department show at least four people burglarizing Chicas Frescas, the clothing store they co-own on International Boulevard in East Oakland.
Dominguez's husband Luis recorded the aftermath, showing the ransacked boutique left severely damaged.
"I mean, the repairs are going to be more than what they stole," said Lorena.
She said the burglary lasted about three and a half minutes and that the suspects backed a truck up into the store after, cutting through the front gate and security system.
"They just were back and forth going handful of merchandise, throwing it in the back of the truck," she said.
The store opened in 2006 and has relocated a few times. This is the first time Dominguez says it has been burglarized at its current spot. In 20 years, the family has had to close several businesses due to rising crime in Oakland.
This latest theft prevented the store from opening on Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.
"We don't have that money on hand. We live day by day. We restock based on what we sell," Dominguez said.
Dominguez hopes to stay in Oakland but may consider relocating the store to Concord. An online fundraiser has been launched to help in the recovery effort.
Based on the latest crime stats from Oakland PD, commercial burglaries are up 12% this year and up 31% over the past three years.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/7FLO1hQ
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