AHWATUKEE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – Burglars who broke into three Ahwatukee businesses on Elliot Road and 51st Street by punching holes in their walls are still on the loose.
“A little unorthodox, for sure,” said Patrick Larson, the owner of Caffe Boa. Larson said he bought the restaurant two years ago. The anniversary lands next weekend. He said this was the first break-in at the restaurant since he took over. “It was pretty wild, as far as seeing two big men go through the wall,” he said.
Shortly after 4 a.m. Thursday, Larson’s surveillance cameras captured two thieves breaking through a wall connecting Caffe Boa and Sakana Sushi. One man leaves and the other follows. The pair scatter around Larson’s restaurant with bandana scarves covering their faces.
Larson said his security system beeped a warning when it detected motion. If a code is not entered, a loud alarm sounds and the police are notified. This is what happened when you see the thieves running away. One went out the back door and the other came back through the hole they came in through. “It’s kind of upsetting because our heart and soul is really into this and a lot of people in the community love this place, and we have a lot of regulars, so it makes them feel a little insecure as well,” Larson said.
Before getting to his restaurant, Larson said the thieves used the back door of a vacant unit and punched a hole in the wall to get into Smiley Nails. The owner of the nail salon did not want to speak on camera, but said they don’t keep money in the building. However, the thieves turned off their security cameras, swept the place, collected material in baskets and even ate the cookie.
He said they tried to break through one of its walls to get into the Sakani Sushi bar, but lightning was in the way. So the couple made another hole in the wall to get into the sushi restaurant.
Sakana’s owner was not available when a family crew from Arizona stopped by, but we were able to see the walls being fixed. “Fortunately, nothing was taken and no one was injured, which is the only thing that matters because we can fix dry wall. If they got in through the window, we can fix a broken glass. It could have been a lot worse, so I feel good,” Larson said.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information about the case to call 602-876-TIPS. Larson is also offering a free spaghetti meatball meal every day for a year for any tips that lead to the arrest of the suspects.
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